THE
CHINESE RECORDER
AND
Missionary Journal
VOLUME XLI.
(Shanghai:
PRESBYTERIAN MISSION PRESS.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Nanking University
Frontispiece to January number.
West Lake, Hangchow, and Creek Scene, ) u, ~
Dongsi ... ... .>'• Facing p. 92.
»«*-*
The Late Mrs. Isabella Ball. Facing p. 164,
The Late Mrs. Martha Foster Crawford ... ,, p. 168.
p : ki " 6 :.. Vie : !
Students’ Dormitories, and Histology Class
at Work, Union Medical College, Pe
king ... ... ... ... ...
Dr. W. A. P. Martin.
Students of the Union Normal School,
Wuchang .
U:
Facing p. 222.
Frontispiece to April
| Facing p. 300.
Fiftieth Anniversary of the First Presby- U ... . , T
terian Church, Shanghai. ... f Frontispiece to May
*** ?- Between pp. 356 and 357.
... Frontispiece to June
Presbyterian Theological College (Academic ) .
Department), Canton, China .facing p. 431-
Group of Chinese Christians (in Japan) ... Frontispiece to July
Main Front Entrance, Nanking Exposition. Facing p. 447.
Agriculture Building, Nanking Exposition. ,, p. 467.
The Late Dr. J. A. Otte .. ,, p. 479.
General View of the Baptist Mission (South) ) Frontispiece t0 Augast
Compound, Canton .) r 0
Old Examination Hall, Canton
New Government School, Canton
Edinburgh ..
The Late Mrs. J. L. Nevius ...
Christian Headquarters, with Information
Bureau, at Nanking Exposition...
Boone University Library, Wuchang
The Late Rev. D. Maclver .
The Late Mrs. John Fryer
Dr. Wilbert Webster White.
Facing p. 553.
. P- 569-
Frontispiece to September ,,
Facing p. 579.
„ p. 618.
Frontispiece to October ,,
Dr. Robert William Rogers, Miss Caroline ) w , <
L. Palmer, and Dr. Louis M. Sweet ... j * P’ ^*
“ China Tent ” Group at Baslow Conference. ,, p. 684.
Second Annual Conference Chinese Stu-1
dents’ Christian Association in North Frontispiece to November ,,
America .)
Ruins of the Old Examination Hall, Kai-)
The f Ne g w’p?o“taciaI XssemUy Hail, Between pp. ,oo and 701.
fengfu . J
A T C P ul? 1 Nonf Skm ° naStefy ^ ^ ^ | Frontis P iece to December „
Eastern Tai Nua People, born in Yunnan, )« . -gg
but now living in Eastern Burma ... f & P- v
A Tai Princess. Laos, Eastern Burma ... 1
The late Buddhist Bishop of Maiug K’un, V „ p. 787.
Laos, Eastern Burma .)
C. E. Convention in Kwang-chow, Honan... ,, p. 810,
INDEX TO VOL. XLI.-1910.
Page.
Abraham and the King of the East
Prof. Robert W. Rogers, Ph.D., LL.D. 646
Apologetic for China, The. Bishop L. H. Roots. 8
Ball, Isabella.—In Memoriam . J. D. B. 164
Biblical Theism, The Advantages of a
Rev. Louis Matthews Sheet, M.A., S.T.D. 653
Book Table ... 106, 175, 231, 301, 364, 425, 489, 563, 619, 677, 744, 800
Buddhist China, Chinese Buddhism and H. Hackmans, Lie. ThEol. 770
Centenary Missionary Conference, Committee’s Final Report . 237
Chinese Christian Church, The Development of the
Rev. Chari.es E. Ewing. 701
Christian Message, China and the .Rev. Ernest Box. 71
Christian Message, How to Awaken Interest in the
Rev. Alfred A. Gilman. 398
Christmas Morning, Ode to (Poem) . W. Nelson Bitton. 103
Church and the Chinese Scholar, The Chinese... Rev. A. A. Fulton, D.D. 347
Correspondence. 104, 169, 229, 291, 357, 418, 4S1, 558, 610, 674, 736, 794
Crawford, Mrs. Martha Foster—In Memoriam, Mrs. Joseph V. Dawes. 167
DuBose, Hampden Coit—In Memoriam, . J. W. Davis. 353
DuBose, Rev. Hampden C., D.D.—A11 Appreciation.
Soochow Missionary Association. 554
Edicts in 1909, Imperial - ... . J., Darroch, D.Lit. 99
Edinburgh Conference, China’s Part in the .W.-W. Lockwood. 602
Edinburgh, Report of the Proceedings of the World Missionary Con¬
ference in . Rev. W. Nelson Bitton. 530
[See World Missionary Conference .]
Editorial.i, 125, 189, 249, 313, 379, 439, 503.- 57G 629, 693, 755
Educated Classes of China, Some Points in Work for the
W. E. Taylor, M.A., Ph.D.. 336
Effective Occupation, What is .Rev. P. F. Price, D.D. 395
Evangelism, The Place of Vision in Rev. W. RkmFRY Hunt, F.R.G.S. 403
Evangelistic Association, The Work of the .. Rev. J. R. MILLER. 37
Evangelistic Work, Schools and Colleges as a Factor in
Rev. L. B. Ridgely. 60
Evolution and Missions.Bishop James W. Bashford. 26
Feasts and the Christian Attitude Towards Them, Some Chinese
W. Nelson Bitton. 269
Federation and the Baptist Problem,. . James V. Latimer. 160
Federation, What it can accomplish for the Chinese Church.
Cheng Ching-yi. 155
French Tonkin, An Unevangelised Country.Rev. S. Pollard. 417
Friday Club Idea, The . Edward M. MEkrinS, M.D. 474
Fryer, Mrs. Eliza Nelson—In Memoriam. 55 ^
Health of the Missionary, The . M. J. Exner, B.S., M.D. 447
Hinterland of China, The. Edw. Amundsen, F.R.G.S. 588
Holidays, Ou Missionaries’. ... Bishop G. E. MoulE, D.D. 458
Home Notes by a Missionary on Furlough. ... Rev. E. W. Burt, M.A. 223
Indemnities, The Case for. J* Archibald. 718
Indo-China, An Appeal for,—A Vast Unoccupied Field.
Rev. J. H. Freeman. 525
IV
Index.
Page.
Inevitable Problem, An, How to meet it .Rev. R. F. Fitch. 84
Itinerant Method of Evangelistic Work, The ... Rev. Albert Rut ley. 409
Journalism, Notes on Recent Native ... Rev. W. Arthur Cornaby. 226
Literary Work, How May the Christian Church Secure the Services of
Accomplished Chinese Scholars for. Rev. Evan Morgan, 327
Literature in China, Problems of. Rev, J. C. Garritt, D.D. 579
Literature, The Use of the Christian Scholar in Rev. W. E. Soothill. 343
M a elver, Rev,. D.—In Memoriatn.M. C. Mackenzie. 549
Masses in China, The Problem of Reaching the Alex. R. Saunders. 197
Matthew, The Gospel by .. ... Caroline L. Palmer, B.A. 662
Memorials to the Dead and their Relation to Christian Practice.
W. S. Pakenham-Walsh. 264
Missionary Journal. 123, 188, 24S, 311,377, 438. 502, 570, 628, 692, 753, 815
Missionary News. 115, 1S2, 242, 307, 369, 431, 494, 569, 626, 684, 750, 809
Mission School in China, The Future of the.Rev. A, J. Bowen. 45
Mission Work,, The Importance of the Direct Phase of
Rev. A. SydenstrtckER. 387
Month, The.122, 187, 246, 50a, 690, 752
Nestor of Protestant Missions in China, The.Dr. A. H. Smith. 288
Nevius, Mrs. J, L,—A Tribute .... Dr. W. A. P. Martin. 553
New Testament, The Arrangement of the ... Rev. G. G. Warren. 726
Nou Su People of the Neighbourhood of Chao-tung in Yunnan, The
Rev. C. E. Hicks. 210
Otte, Dr, J. A.—In Memoriam. .. . Rev. P. W, Pitcher. 479
Prayer, How May I Know that God Answers
Rev. Wilbert W. White, Ph.D„, D.D. 669
Recreation of the Missionary’, The Intellectual
Rev.. P. J. MaclagAn, Ph.D. 467
Right Life an Essential Factor in Understanding the Word of God and in
Maintaining Faith in It. Rev. Wilbert W. White, Ph.D., D.D. 637
Sanctuary, The viii, 132, 196, 256, 320, 386, 446, 510, 578, 636, 700, 762
Sermon preached Sunday morning, August 8th, 1909, at Ruling Conven¬
tion.. Rev. F. B. Meyer, B.A. 1
Sin, The Chinese and Christian Idea of. Rev. C. E. Darwent. 321
South China, Some Notes on a Missionary Tour Through, Among the Tai
Race.Rev. W. Clifton Dodd. 780
Spiritual Life of the Missionary, The ... Bishop Herbert J. Molony. 763
Summer Resorts, The Use and Abuse of. Rev. G. G. Warren. 463
Superstitions, Christian Suggestions in Chinese Rev. W. A. Cornaby. 257
Szechuan Marches, Political and Missionary Problems in the.
‘ I. Huston Edgar, F.R.G.S. 516
Turkestan, In Chinese ... .. Rev. G. W. Hunter. 511
Unity, Anglican Church Orders and the Problem of
Bishop Herbert J. Molony. 282
Unity in China, The Problem of Church. Bishop F. R. Graves. 150
Unity, The Next Step in Church. Charles George SpArham. 133
Unity, The Outcome of the Movement for Greater Christian
Rev. F. Raweinson . 596
Week of Prayer, Evangelical Alliance.791
World Missionary Conference, Impressions of the
[See Edinburgh .] I.—By Rev. A. H, Smith, D.D, 606
II.—By F. S. Brockman 608
Wuchang, The Union Normal School,. G. A. Clayton. 220
Year, Review of the. W. Nelson Button. 92
NANKING UNIVERSITY
THE CHINESE RECORDER
AND MISSIONARY JOURNAL
Published Monthly by the American Presbyterian Mission Press,
18 Peking Road, Shanghai, China
Editorial Board.
Editor-in-chief : Rev. G. F. FiTCH, d.d.
Associate Editors: Rev. W. N. Bitton and Rev. D. W. Rvon.
Bishop J. W. Basheord, Rev. A. Foster. Rev.D.MAcGn,LiVRAY,D.D.
Rev. E. W. Burt, m.a. Rev. J.C. GarriTT.d.d. Mr. G. McIntosh.
Rt, Rev. Bishop Cassels. Rev. J. C. Gibson, d.d. Rev. G. F. Mosher.
Dr. J. Darroch. Rev. D. E. Hoste. Rev. A, H. Smith, d.d.
VOL. XL1
JANUARY, 1910
NO. 1
Editorial
It is a pleasure to the editors of the Chinese Recorder
to be able to wish all of its readers a Happy New Year. The
year which has passed has brought many in-
tlbe flew JiJeat. s ^ at3Ces 0 f goodwill and encouragement from
a wide circle of friends. Interest in the management and
the matter of the magazine has been very evident, and the
experience of the year is in itself an incentive to further effort.
We desire especially to thank those of our subscribers who
have spared time from the pressure of other duties to contribute
articles upon subjects which they have made a study of.
Their labours have surely not been in vain. The whole
missionary body is in their debt. To be brought into touch
with the living missionary problems of the day is an essential
need for all workers; we are dependent one upon another,
and the Chinese Recorder is in the happy position of being
able to provide a ready means of communication for all members
of the missionary body throughout China.
The editors would therefore express the hope that they
may receive through this year the same hearty support as
has been given them in the year that has passed and so be
made a means of help and blessing to the kingdom of God in
this land. The Chinese Recorder, dealing as it does with
work throughout the Empire of China, should be read and
discussed in every missionary circle.
It
The Chinese Recorder
[January
Gbe present Wumber.
The subscribers to the Recorder will note that the
present issue is a special one and deals at length in some
of the papers which are here published
with problems which come up for dis¬
cussion wherever missionaries gather together to talk over
their work. Much of the material contained herein should give
all of us occasion “furiously to think.” That many mission¬
aries will find themselves in disagreement with the conclusions
expressed is certain enough since each article expresses the
personal point of view of the writer* but it will be borne in
mind that the authors of these articles are very representative
and their lines of thought demand serious consideration. In
this connection we conld wish that other summer resorts would
provide as much material for helpful discussion of vital topics
relating to our work as does the Ruling Convention, at which a
majority of the papers herein issued w r ere read. Much focussing
of thought upon the great questions of the hour, and a fair
understanding of the position of other of the brethren than
those amongst whom we live and labour, as well as a
true spiritual uplift, would result from a carefully prepared
programme dealing with topics which must be faced. Food
for the soul is essential to our service ; next to this we must
have material for the mind if an intelligent use is to be made of
our hearts’ devotion. It is the privilege of the servant ol Jesus
Christ to face boldly all the problems presented by the advance
of His Gospel upon the unbelieving world.
* * *
One of the constant problems of our missionary enterprise
is that of the best means of approach to the mind and heart
of the people to whom we come with the
AMbotia of approach. christian Gospel . The f act that the
religious instinct has been implanted by Divine providence
in some form or other in every human soul, gives to the
religious teacher a sure ground for seed-sowing, but does
not by any means provide him with an appreciation of the
best method of labour. How to kindle the divine spark
is the problem for missionary workers. It is obvious enough
to all who consider the subject that varying conditions of life,
racial distinctions, differing modes of thought, must serve to
bring into prominence fresh aspects of the unchanging message
if that is to be applied with wisdom and with power- unto
1910]
Editorial
m
salvation. The fact that several of the papers contributed to
this issue deal either specially or incidentally with this phase
of our Christian duty, shows how important the theme
is. The armour of God does not consist of one weapon
only, and the choice of weapon is to be determined by the
conditions of the situation. The nature of the field of our
operations must receive the most minute and prayerful examina¬
tion if we are to be fully effective in our advance upon it.
The consideration demanded is not here concerned with
the subject of our message, for there is but One Holy
Name given among men, but it is very definitely concerned
with the maimer of that message and its application.
*
*
It is far easier now than at any previous time to attempt
the study of the conditions of Chinese thought and life which
v missionary work calls for. Missionaries
Stube tbe Condition*. , , , . - ., r
who have been m the field for some years,
and who are still lacking in the elements of knowledge of
Chinese history and character, are generally without excuse.
A system of study provided for missionaries, which does not give
time and opportunity for such vital work as this, is inadequate
to the situation which has to be met. The knowledge of the
salient features in the moral and religious life of the people, as
well as a sympathetic understanding of the more obvious social
aspects of their life, ought to be the possession of every mission¬
ary of a few years’ standing. Much failure in connection with
very arduous and devoted labour is due to lack of such training
as is here outlined. The tendency of the Anglo-Saxon to account
himself entirely self-sufficient, and to display an unconscious
arrogance due to the inherited belief that he is the last word of
civilization, is not always the best recommendation of the Gospel
he professes. A Christian has not less to learn because he is a
Christian, rather the more ; for it is his to become the servant
of all for the Gospel’s sake. A man may be wise unto salvation,
and yet a very ineffective worker for Christ simply because he
shirks the labour necessary to get into living contact with the
hearts of men. And such knowledge of men is not to be
casually picked up ; it is the fruit of diligent and persistent
work along very definite lines. No missionary can afford to
neglect close and constant study of the race to whom he is
commissioned with the message of God.
iv
The Chinese Recorder [January
In his article upon the question of evolution Bishop Bash-
ford rightly asserts that the general principle of evolution,
although not in its special Darwinian form,
has conquered in the scientific world. There
is less assertion though than there was at
one time that evolution is the only, or the final, explanation of
physical phenomena. These, however, are matters of scientific
enquiry and are to be accepted as they provide adequate expla¬
nations of the facts of life. In questions of scientific enquiry we
are all in the hands of the experts and can only refute their
conclusion, in their field of effort, on the basis of better knowl¬
edge. A leading theologian has recently put the question as it
concerns the Christian religion, especially in its bearing upon
missions, thus :—
u At the present hour it is not the evolution of the biolo¬
gists or the anthropologists that need give us much concern.
Our fear of these is now outgrown. Our real concern begins
when the evolutionary principle is carried into the history of
religion, when it is made to organize the new knowledge
drawn from psychology and comparative religion, and to
organize it with the same confidence with which, in the levels
of biology, the new knowledge was once organized into an
evolutionary doctrine declared to be the world’s explanation
come at last. Religion, it is now said, is evolution which has
reached spiritual pitch. . . Each religion is best for the social
stage it covers. No religion is final. And so with the end of
any final or absolute religion, there is an end of much that
troubles the world, for instance , of viissioyts at least. For
Christian missions cannot live upon improving the heathen ,
but only on passing them from death to life. 5 ’
* * *
In the very interesting paper in our present number, on
page 70 , in referring to the matter of teaching English in the
Ctorrecticm Uuion Colle £ e ’ Shantung, the following language
is used, “ The change in policy, introducing Eng¬
lish, so far from driving the students off to worldly interests
and occupations, as some of us have at times theoretically
feared it might do, seems, on the contrary, to have drawn a host
to the service of Christ.” While willing to concede all that
can be said in favor of the study of English, we fear that the
facts in the case will hardly bear out Mr. Ridgeley’s remarks.
And we are the more anxious that the truth should be known,
as the great revival, to which he refers, and in which so many
were led to offer themselves for the ministry, was begun and
Editorial
v
1910]
tTbe fcolftfcal
©utlooft.
conducted almost entirely by a Chinese pastor, who knew
little or no English. A knowledge of English is unquestion¬
ably a valuable asset to any young Chinese in this day, but
there is not much doubt that it furnishes a strong temptation
to him to reject the ministry for some more lucrative position
such as the knowledge of English is ever opening up before
him. The remarkable thing about the revival in Shantung
College was that in spite of temptations so many were willing
to offer themselves for what they knew must be a life of com¬
parative poverty, and it was the revival, and not the introduc¬
tion of English, that drew the “host to the service of Christ.”
* * *
The indiscriminate anti-foreign agitation which is being
urged forward by many restless spirits in China is among the
most serious signs of possible disturbance to the
empire. The tone of certain recent popular
pamphlets which have been disseminated in
some provinces shows that the most unscrupulous methods
are being used in order to stir up the minds of the ignorant
mass of the people against all foreigners in China. State¬
ments regarding an official decision on the part of the Western
powers to divide up Chinese territory have been invented
and other ■wilful misstatements put into circulation with no
other than mischievous intent. Here is one of the greatest
dangers attendant upon China’s political reforms. If the
officials of the empire were wise they would see to it that
no such agitation as this anti-foreign movement were permitted
room to live ; it cannot help but lead to national disaster if its
vicious course proceeds unchecked, and in the final result
officialdom will not suffer least.
We are by no means apologists for foreign aggression in
China, and we are entirely at one with the rightful national
aspirations of this people. Their cause is our care, since we
are here to help forward all that makes for the full regeneration
and upbuilding of the nation. The success of Christian mis¬
sions means a self-reliant and contented people. Yet we see
only too clearly, and with deep regret, signs that those in
authority do not yet appreciate the true source or the right
method of national reform. For a people there are no easy
short-cuts to greatness, and a policy which points to a reliance
upon the inflamed passions of the multitude is a comprehensive
confession of either weakness or despair.
VI
The Chinese Recorder
[January
XLbc Ehucational
©utloofc.
Amongst the matters which are certain to claim attention
during the coming year, the question of Christian education
bolds a leading, if not the first place. Our
institutions are likely to be subjected very
soon to a test which, in spite of their previous
vicissitudes, they have not yet met with, namely, that of
active and possibly hostile competition. They can emerge
from it successfully only by virtue of their superior merits.
The future is likely to be severe upon small “one man”
educational institutions, save where these are doing preparatory
and lower grade work. There may be a gradual elimination
of the unfit, not in itself a bad thing, and everywhere there
should be a careful examination of the educational resources of
missions with a view to their betterment. It is no sign of
statesmanship to be waiting upon promises of increased financial
support from the home lauds. If the stress of competition
should help to drive our educational work along satisfactory
union lines, it will be a matter for gratitude. The need for an
education under Christian auspices and influence is greater
than ever in China and increasingly essential to the future well¬
being of this people.
The difficulties attending a transition period are also sure
to be felt in the theological schools, where the problem of at
once adequately training men for their future service and yet
not spoiling them for their immediate task, is a growingly
difficult one. But if the thoughts and hopes of the teachers are
fixed constantly on the goal of our missionary ambition, we are
bound to succeed. We are fellow-workers together with God.
*
*
Jktcfts without
Straw.
We fear that many of our most promising young men,
after they have finished their theological studies and come to
enter upon tile practical work of the ministry,
are much hampered from the very start, and
eventually considerably dwarfed, from inability
to furnish themselves with adequate literature for the proper
nourishment and development of their intellectual and spiritual
natures. Pains and expense have been taken to provide for
them a good educational training, and then they are sent forth
to work. A salary is given them which is sufficient for the
plainest living, and nothing more. Anything like new books
and current literature is out of the question. What has been
1910]
Editorial
vii
already acquired must suffice, with the result that in a few
years the man is living but a tread-mill life and coming far
short of what he might have been if he had been properly
equipped. The eagerness with which the recent offer of the
Chinese Tract Society for Pastor’s Libraries was taken up is
sufficient evidence of their desire for help if the way is
made possible. Why should not a special fund be set aside
in every mission for a regular supply of good literature, which
should be devoted to that and nothing else ? In the present
day, with the new spirit of learning abroad in the land, it
is all the more urgent that our pastors and helpers should
be thoroughly equipped, not only when they leave our
training schools, but even more afterwards, and special provision
should be made to this end.
* * *
One cannot well be wholly pessimistic, nor utterly despair
of the rich, when reading of the vast sums recently given by a
wealthy American—or Scotch-American, oer-
Request. ^aps we s “ ould cal1 him—to religious, charit¬
able, benevolent, and educational institutions.
To be sure they were not made until death called the donor
away, but they were made, nevertheless, by one who had given
largely during his life-time. The figures are fairly bewildering
—sixty-one bequests in all—the smallest, with oue exception,
being ten thousand dollars, seven of two and a quarter millions
each, three of one and one half millions, four of three-fourths
and nine of one hundred thousand. Two and a quarter millions
were given to the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions (or
over five million Mexican dollars), a like sum to the Board
of Home Missions, seven hundred and fifty thousand to the
American Bible Society and one and a half millions to Robert
College, Constantinople (mission college) and ten thousand to
the Syrian Protestant College at Beirut. Not only is there
ground for rejoicing at the amount of good which such munifi¬
cent gifts will accomplish, but we trust that the example thus
set will be followed by other Christians who are possessed of
millions until mission institutions all over the world shall be
adequately equipped and the present day of small things—not
to be despised but to be lamented—shall have passed and the
missionaries on the field and those who sustain them at home
shall rejoice together.
viii
The Chinese Recorder
[January, 1910
£be Sanctuary
" The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much ,."—St, James v, 1 6.
“ For inhere two or three are gathered together in my Name, there am I in the midst of
them."— St. Matthew xviii, 20.
Pray
That not only man to man, but
also nation to nation and race to
race, may show forth those deeds of
brotherhood that prepare the way for
Christ (Page 9}.
That the Chinese may from this
time on place the chief emphasis on
religion rather than on ethics. (Page
77).
That the Chinese may consent to
be led out of the darkness of error
and sin and the loneliness of separa¬
tion into fellowship with God and
into the light and liberty of His
children. (Page 82).
That missionary effort may not fail
to give to the social and material
interests their proper place in the
plan of salvation. (Page 57).
That there may soon be established
in China that life-bearing church
that will help this nation as it has
helped your own. (Page 12).
That the Christian church in China
may not long delay its attention to
the question of Christian literature.
(Page 94).
That the church may provide some
constructive substitute for the athe¬
istic literature that is now flooding
the country. (Page 85),
For a speedy solution of the “law¬
suit trouble ’’ and perseverance in
the policy of non-interference on the
part of the missionaries. (Page 93).
For the mission schools in China,
that they may never fail to preach
the Gospel that enables men to help
themselves and so to transform their
surroundings that a man may live a
man’s life and not that of a mere
animal. (Page 56).
That God will help you uot to be
led astray by prejudices and mis¬
understandings. (Page 8).
That your education may ever be
such as\vill keep your piety intelli¬
gent, and your piety such as will
never allow your desire for education
to become lessened. (Page 46).
That you may never find content¬
ment in eating fruit when you should
be bearing it; in sitting at God’s
table to be served with His richest
rovision when you should go and
ear it to those who hunger. (Page 6).
For grace and strength to bear the
suffering, loneliness, and the weight
of other souls, realizing that God has
placed you on “that little bit of bare
wall ’’ because He knew He could
trust you there. (Page 6).
The Ford of the Harvest that He
will send laborers into His harvest.
(Page 99).
A Prayer for the YEa.r ’9 Work.
O Heavenly Father, forasmuch as
none can come to receive Thy holy
word except Thou draw them by
Thy gracious inspiration, we beseech
Thee to pour out Thy Holy Spirit
upon those who shall hear the mes¬
sage of Thy love in this laud through¬
out the coming year, that their hearts
may be inclined favorably to receive,
steadfastly to retain, and obediently
to perform whatsoever shall be taught
them in Thy name, and that they
may manifest, in the dedication to
Thee of their lives and substance,
that thankfulness which they owe
to Thee for Thy redeeming love:
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
Give Thanks
That the Chinese have that quality
or capacity for patriotism which
shows their worthiness to enter the
family of nations. (Page 16).
That so much has been accomplish¬
ed in advancing the cause of opium
suppression. (Page 97).
That God has prepared the Chinese
race for Christ and the revelation of
God’s love. (Page 72).
That science is increasingly affirm¬
ing a Personal Spiritual Creator of
the Universe. (Page 28).
For the great ingathering of the
past year. (Page 93).
For the deepening of the spiritual
life in the Chinese church that is
seen on every hand. (Page 93).
For the growing part taken by-
Chinese workers in the varied enter¬
prises of the church. (Page 94).
For the continual advance in Sun¬
day school work. (Page 94).
For the great work that Christian
schools have done in the education
of the world. (Page 62).
Conference Papers
Sermon preached Sunday morning, August 8th,
1909, at Ruling Convention
BY REV- F. B. MEYER, B.A., OK LONDON
“ Ye did not choose me, but! chose you and appointed you that you should
go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide ; that wbatsover ye shall
ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” John 15:16.
HE unfortunate division of the chapters in our version by
which a break occurs between the end of the 14th and
the beginning of the 15U1, obscures the exquisite connec¬
tion which it seems reasonable to suppose our Lord intended.
He had been seated, as we know, in the tipper chamber which
was afterwards to become so famous in the history of the Church;
and had instituted the memorial supper in words which will live
as long as the heart of man shall throb. Then as the hour hand
of His destiny was silently moving forward to the predestined
moment, and with a certain knowledge that Judas was marshall¬
ing his band in some adjoining courtyard,He said to His friends,—
“ the time has come when we must cease our speech together
and go forth to resolute action.” It had always been His cus¬
tom in His earthly life to associate with Himself His little band
of disciples as when He said,—“ We must work the work of Him
that sent me while it is day.” It was in this spirit that, classing
them with Himself, He said,—“ Arise, let us go hence.”
As they passed out together into the moonlight which was
flooding the city, the tendrils of the vine which were probably
entwined round the verandah of the upper storey, fluttered iii
the night wind, and, turning to His followers He said,— u I am
the true vine and ye are the branches.” In usilm that word
true, He meant us to understand that His thought had passed to
the timeless age when creation lay in embryo as a thought in
the mind of God. Before vines or plants, or earth or universe
was created, the archetype of everything was hidden in the
mind of the Creator, and when our Lord said,—“ I am the true
vine,” He surely meant us to understand that He was the mani¬
festation of those thoughts of God which were the patterns of
2
The Chinese Recorder
[January
all things that are made. In other words, He suggested that the
connection between a vine and its branches reflected something
in the nature of things, and that He, and His followers, would
reveal in human life the same conception that this graceful and
fruitful plant reveals in the world of vegetation.
The words He addressed to that little band that grouped it¬
self around Him as He went forth to Gethsemane, to Calvary,
the grave, the Easter dawn and the Eternal reign, He is always
addressing to His Church, and therefore He is always summon¬
ing us to—“ Arise, and go hence.” It is as though He says,—
“ there are revelations of God vou have never seen, there is work
to be done you have never taken in hand, there are sufferings to
be endured which we must bear together.” Alwavs, in everv
new century, in the opening of every new continent, in the bap¬
tism of every fresh persecution, in all the unfolding of Church
History and in all the immeasurable aeons that lie before us, He
is classing us together with Himself saying,—“you and I,” “I
and you,” “ I alone can save the world; but I cannot save the
world alone-—you are necessary to me, you are the branches
through which I am to express myself.” What a comfort it is
that we can never stand on the threshold of a door of which He
does not hold the key. If, during the coming months, it is your
lot to experience absolutely new conditions of service or suffer¬
ing, remember that the Shepherd when He puts you forth goes
before you and you have simply to follow Him. He is bound
to you by an indissoluble and eternal bond ; ever and again He
is saying,—” Arise, let us go hence.”
There are preliminary thoughts that arrest us. First, Christ's
far horizon. This Gospel abounds in far horizons. There is that
of John 3: 16, where we are told that God loved the world, and
that the outlook of Calvary was a world’s redemption. There is
that of John it, with its words of infinite depth which tell us that
the object of Christ’s death was not simply to save a few elect
souls, but to gather together in one the Church of God that are
scattered abroad, as though the writer looked beyond the Hebrew
fold to the other sheep that are scattered throughout all ages and
lands. There is another in John 12, where we are told that when
Jesus Christ is lifted up He will draw all men,of all shades and var¬
ieties of thought, of all countries and climes and ages, to Himself.
1910] Sermon Preached at Kuling' Convention 3
Throughout the whole of this book of far horizons however,
there is no single outlook more resplendent than this which
recalls the memory of Psalm 80, and certain other great predi-
tions of Deuteronomy and Isaiah. Are we not told, for instance,
that God would bring forth a vine whose fruit should cover the
whole land even to the furthest river and sea ? It was as though
our Lord intended to gather up the divine conception of the
mission of the chosen people as he stepped forth with the repre¬
sentatives of His Church. What Israel might have been, had
she not failed in the divine purpose, that would be affected by
all the wonderful events which were to date from that night.
How remarkably that pre-vision has been fulfilled. Church
History is the record of the gradual creeping of the branches of
the vine planted in Hebrew soil and watered by the divine
grace, as first Palestine, then Greece, then Rome, then Europe,
and now practically the whole world have witnessed the irresis¬
tible advance of Christianity. Have not the elder missionaries
amongst you watched, year by year, the extension of the boughs
of that vine as they have passed through this great empire? In¬
deed there is hardly a land or shore where it is not possible to
discover some tendril or branch of that vine. Under every sun
rich clusters of grapes hang to refresh the thirsty lips of man¬
kind. There is no limit to the further advance of the cause of
Christ. It is destined to fill not only earth but Heaven. It may
even be that distant worlds and ages are to be refreshed by the
fruit nourished by the dews of blood shed in Gethsemane and
Calvary.
Second .—There is in this chapter a sure profession on the
part of Christ of the inevitable suffering through which His
Church should pass. Mrs. Hamilton King in her poem entitled
“The Disciples,” which tells the story of Garibaldi’s emancipa¬
tion of modern Italy, describes a sermon which was preached
in the hospital, by Hugo Bassi. He took this chapter for his
text, He reminded his hearers, who were gathered from the
plains of sunny Italy, that the vine was the most suffering of all
the vegetable kingdom. In the Spring.time her branches are
ruthlessly pruned so that her shoots bleed at every pore, in the
Autumn her fruit is crushed by the feet of the treaders of the
grapes which are dyed in the red blood of the fruit. All through
the long Winter the vine stock sits solitary amid the reign
■4 The Chinese Recorder [January
of Winter, until again the sap of Spring renews its beauty. So
our Cord foresaw that His Church was to suffer, that in every
period of her growth there would be pain and that her most
luscious clusters would be ruthlessly crushed. Only a few years
ago, as you know to your cost, in this country, it seemed as
though the wine presses were trodden in every province and
hundreds of noble souls yielded up their blood and the whole
land was bespattered with the ruddy juice.
Third .—Notice the Lord’s conception of the essential unity
of His people. He never contemplated uniformity but the
variety which is suggested by the vine in which branch and
tendril, leaf, blossom and fruit, differ from each other, and yet
are united by the possession of a common life. In the Church
of Christ there may be, there must be, infinite variety of shades
of thought and activity, but notwithstanding all the variety of
function, there may be a profound oneness of spirit. Each be¬
liever is in Christ; in Christ’s heart; loved with everlasting love;
in Christ’s Book, enrolled on its memorial pages; in Christ’s hand,
from which no power shall ever pluck. Trembling soul ! in
Christ’s grace rooted as a tree in exuberant soil, or a house in a
foundation of rock; but above all, in Christ’s Person, for He is
the Head,— “from whom the whole body is fitly framed and knit
together by that which every joint supplieth.” You may be a
very obscure branch, but be sure of this, if you are a true Chris¬
tian you must be in Him as the eye is in the socket, the arm in
the shoulder joint and the branch in the trunk.
Also Christ is in each believer. The texts that teach
Christ’s real presence in the believer are as numerous as the
books of the New Testament. “ Know ye not that Jesus Christ
is in you, except ye be reprobate ?” Christ liveth in me.” ‘We
shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.”
The Lord Jesus is in the heart that makes him welcome, as the
steam is in the piston, as the sap is in the branch, as the blood is
in the heart, as the life is in the body. It would be impossible
therefore for words to describe a more intense unity than
that which is here represented. All who are one with Christ
must necessarily be one with each other. The members of the
same body must be members one of another. Children of the
same parents must be brothers and sisters. Branches of the
same vine must belong not only to it, but to their fellows.
1910]
Sermon Preached at Killing Convention
5
Theologians of every age have tried to secure unity on the
basis of a common dogma. Thev have also sought to embrace
Christendom in one vast ecclesiastical system. Just before the
dawn of the Reformation, it seemed as though their effort had
succeeded. At the beginning of the sixteenth century, worship
reposed in the monotony of almost universal uniformity. But
what was the result? There is but one answer—the deep sleep
of spiritual death. Whenever you try to force life into one
stream you not only destroy its course and beauty but kill it.
The Christian Church is a vine. However different its con¬
stituent members, and however far separated by time and space,
on earth or in heaven, because the life of Jesus throbs through¬
out the entire organism , it is one.
Now let us turn to the text, which I trust will live in your
heart and memory and help you in many a dark hour, when
once you perceive its meaning. It will come back to you like
the music of the bells of your childhood stealing over the fever¬
ed landscape of your life. The word appointed , might be ren¬
dered placed , so that the whole verse would read,—“ Ye did not
choose me but I chose you and placed yon that ye should go
and bear fruit.”
Does not some such scene as this come back to your mind
whilst I speak? You are again a child in the old fashioned
garden belonging to your grandparents or your fathers. You
remember the vinery with its wealth of variety in the Spring
and fruitage in the Autumn. Again, the white and black
clusters of grapes hang from the roof. Standing there as an eager
silent child you watch the old gardener in the Spring as he
brings pieces of old cloth, gathered from disused garments,
and a few large clumsy nails. Again, you see him ascend the
steps of the ladder and stand against some bare piece of wall where
the sunshine lingered all the day. With strong hand he laid
hold of a reluctant tendril accustomed to follow its wayward
wandering will, and fixed it with the nail and cloth just where
he chose ; but the place which he chose for it was the identical
spot which it would have chosen for itself had it known the
wealth of fruit which would repay its suffering when the
Autumn sun had done its work.
Let every weary soul and every lonely heart bow itself
before the great Father who, our Lord says, is the vine-dresser.
6
The Chinese Recorder
[January
—“ My Father is the husbandman.” His hands have found us,
withdrawn us from our own devices and desires, and placed us
where we are. Placed on that little bit of bare wall of China;
placed in some distant Chinese city or remote inland town;
placed in contact with fellow workers who may fret and irritate;
—God has placed you. It would have been far easier to have
been where the vine branches are more numerous, but if you
were more happily circumstanced remember, there would have
been no possibility of thirsty souls receiving the product of the
Gospel, if the place which you now occupy had been vacant.
God wanted you where you are; He chose you for that very
reason. He knew' that he could trust you with suffering, loneli¬
ness ; with the weight of other souls. Before you were born ;
when you were a headstrong boy at school ; or a tiny girl help¬
ing your mother in the home, God had His eye on you ; loved
you; followed you through college days; the ordeal of opening
life ; and shut you up to this land,—this work,—this sphere,—
to be content.
The Past. —“ Ye did not choose me.” It is all too true,
w'e saw no beauty in Christ that we should desire Him. To us
He was a root out of a dry ground, without form or comeliness.
If we had been left to ourselves we might have made the fatal
choice of choosing the shadow and missing the substance. Notice
that we are not chosen to eat fruit, but to bear it. Election
does not primarily secure that we should sit at God’s table and
be served with His richest provision, but that w ? e should go and
bear that provision for those w'ho are dying of hunger. You
must be content to be trampled under foot and forgotten;
to bleed at every pore as the branch does when it is pruned ;
it is enough that you bear much fruit. What do men think of
a branch so long as their lips are moistened with its delicious
product? Is it not good that you were chosen by God, rather
than you chose God? He knew well what you would be. And
when the product of your life is all unfit, we shall ahvaysbe able
to turn to Him and say,—“Heavenly Father, thou must have
known from the first of my failure and sin, my unfruitfulness
and the bitterness of my soul, but Thou art prepared to assume
the entire responsibility, to make good my lack.”
The Present,— It is after all not what we do for Christ
which will live in all coming time, but what He does through
1910 ] Sermon Preached at Killing Convention 7
us. Paul said, “I will not speak of anything save those which
Christ wrought through me to make the Gentiles obedient.”
Hudson Taylor tells, that at the beginning of his life it seems as
though God said to him,—“I am going to evangelize inland
China, and if yon will walk with Me, I will do it through you.”
Let us remember, therefore, to abide in Christ and to seek
that he should abide more fully and mightily in us. We are in
the risen Christ as to our standing, and all our failure and in¬
competence cannot break that sacred fellowship; but He is in us
as a spring of our character and usefulness. The intimacy be¬
tween Him and us does not destroy our individuality or person¬
ality, but uses this as the medium through which the living
Christ sheds Himself on the world.
You will find, therefore, a great help each morning as you
awake, to address our Lord saying, “Son of God, I believe
thou art in me as my life power, as my life bringer, as the foun¬
tain of pefect love.” See to it that your self-life is kept nailed
to the cross and that the Spirit of Christ substitutes the Word
that was with the Father before the worlds -were made. The
sap of God is the living Christ. Through Him the very nature of
God passes tons bringing with it the ingredients which His life
derived from the thirty years of silence, from the things which
He suffered and from His victory over the dark powers. It
would seem as if the current of the divine life passing through
our Lord came impregnated with properties acquired during His
residence amongst men. All this is yours since you are Christ’s,
and Christ is God’s. Whenever, therefore, you come face to
face with duties, or sufferings that baffle you, be sure you turn
inward and say,—“Rise up, oh ! well.” Let the Christ who is
in you flow from you in rivers of living waters.
The Future. —“That your fruit should remain.” Never
a tear falls but what God catches it and transforms it into a
pearl of imperishable value. Never a word is spoken truly and
humbly that does not become a seed corn. Not a prayer is
offered that will not return as a cloud laden with blessing! All
that is done in God and of God abides; He will establish the
work of our hands upon us, and in addition, you will come to
be on terms of such intimacy with God, that whenever you ask
the Father you will receive, because you ask in the name of
Jesus Christ.
8
The Chinese Recorder
[January
Christ on the throne repeats Himself as Christ in our
hearts, and in the answers of our prayers we have the return
tide of the Christ Spirit to the Father.
He says,—“Go and bring forth fruit.” Go back to your
mission ; go far hence to the heathen ; go to the rough plowing
or the tearful sowing and remember, however far the tip of the
branch is from the roots, the sap will travel thither. “Go into
all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature ” “until
the end come.” And He who now says,—“Let us go hence,”
will say,—“Come ye blessed of my Father, sit down with Me
on my throne as I have overcome, and sit down on the Father’s
throne.”
The Apologetic for China
BY THE RT. REV. BISHOP ROOTS
HE function of apologetics is to create an atmosphere
in which Christian belief is possible and probable.
Apologetics is rather an art than a science, aiming mot
so much at the discovery or systematic presentation of truth,
which is the province of constructive theology, as at its pre¬
sentation in useful form. It fulfils the office of John the Baptist,
preparing in the desert a highway for the coming Christ. It
faces the fact that men are led astray by prejudices and
misunderstandings, and adopts therefore the tone of friend¬
ly explanation and frank appeal to reason and good sense,
rather than that of fault finding or exhortation. Its appeal is
on the one hand to practical and on the other hand to intel¬
lectual considerations. Both the practical and the intellectual
considerations must be appealed to, and as life comes before
thought so the appeal must be first, in fact if not in theory, to
the practical aspects of Christianity. The heart of man is never
won by dialectic alone, nor taken by any kind of craft against
its will. And as gracious deeds are the first and the last of God’s
methods in bringing man back to the heavenly home, so in
creating an atmosphere in which Christian belief shall be pos¬
sible, we must follow the divine method of appealing first to
concrete deeds and reasoning about them afterwards. Good deeds
win confidence where words prematurely spoken only confuse
or create distrust. As illustrations of the necessity for this kind
1910] The Apologetic for China 9.
of apologetic we may well remind ourselves of the problems
which confront the messengers of Christ wherever prejudice and
misunderstanding prevail. For example, it is evident that the
apologetic which convinced the earliest believers in the Christian
Church, who were mostly Jews, can never be used with the
Jews in Russia, or even in New York, who feel the weight of
racial opposition and persecution, and who know of Christianity
only to hate it as the religion of their most implacable enemies.
Jewish school children in New York must first learn of the kind¬
ness of their teacher, and then gradually discover that she is .a
Christian, before it is in the slightest degree possible for them to
give heed to any intellectual defence or explanation of Christian¬
ity. Likewise among the weaker races, such as the American
Indians, or the dark skinned peoples of Africa and the Islands
of the South Seas, the first step in commending the Christian
faith must be the argument of good deeds, which shall overcome
the prejudice caused by the oppression and violence of those
powerful races who have stood before them as the exponents of
Christianity. And among our own races in the Christian coun¬
tries of the west, great sections of the people are alienated from
the Christian Church not because they cannot believe its creeds
but because they cannot tolerate its deeds. They are ready to
accept Christ, or at least to honor Him with their lips, while they
denounce the Church which they declare has betrayed Him. A-
pologetics in such a case is of necessity concerned first of all with
the practical business of removing this prejudice, either by show¬
ing that the good deeds of the Church have been misunderstood,
or, more probably, by leading the Church into such practical ex¬
pressions of its faith as shall show that it believes in the command¬
ment “ thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself ” and prepare the
way for the easier task of showing that Jesus Christ founded the
Christian Church and that all good men should repent and be
baptized into the living fellowship of the same.
The first steps in apologetics everywhere at the present day
must be deeds of brotherhood,on a national and international scale,
nation to nation, and race to race, as well as in the narrower re¬
lations of class to class and man to man. The person of Christ lias
given us a theory of the race which demands such deeds, and, as
Principal Fairbairn puts it, the primary duty and main function
of the Church is to realize this theory. If it can be shown that
10
The Chinese Recorder
[January
Jesus Christ our Lord does inspire such deeds, the pragmatist
will at once argue that Christianity must be believed, for he
accepts the proposition that whatever works for good is as good
as truth to us. We shall perhaps not accept in theory the
pragmatist’s position. Few of us would trust ourselves or any
one else to determine the truth by this appeal to what is after all
simply a utilitarian standard. But we cannot fail to recognize
the practical necessity of proving that Christianity brings very
tangible blessings to those who accept it, and that its advocates
are animated by the benevolent love which they profess, if we
hope to create an atmosphere in which Christian belief shall be
possible. It has been said that no religious movement, even in the
progress and development of Christianity, has ever deeply affect¬
ed any considerable community of men unless it brought with it
a palpable improvement of tiie material conditions of life and
called the community at the same time to more strenuous moral
standards. This I believe to be profoundly true, and I would
therefore place practical explanation—the argument of deeds—
in the forefront of our conception of apologetics.
When this first business of the Christian apologist has been
accomplished, the battle of the faith will be more than half won.
The great mass of mankind need no further argument. Never¬
theless, the most thoughtful men are not satisfied with this argu¬
ment alone. How many men we know who have every outward
reason to believe. They have been brought up in Christian
homes, all their most helpful associations are with Christian
men, but they suddenly wake up to find that they cannot give a
reason for the faith that is in them. They long to believe, but
cannot. Purely intellectual difficulties stand in the way, and if
they are to be true to their own conscience they must declare that
they are not Christians for they cannot believe that Jesus is the
Christ, their saviour and the saviour of the world. Questions
which in the former days never occurred to them now demand
an answer,—such questions as these :—In what sense are the
Holy Scriptures inspired? Why are they revered as absolutely
unique? Written so long ago, how can they command the
reverence of those who have acquired such vast stores of
knowledge in these later days? How can they be regarded as
sure to command the unique interest of mankind, even in the
still more enlightened generations yet to come ? How are we to
1910]
The Apologetic for China H
interpret the Old Testament? What can account for the dif¬
ference between the Synoptics and the Fourth Gospel? Or
the question may be philosophical,—How can we believe in
prayer when the universe is so orderly as both scientific men and
philosophers declare it to be ? How and why could God become
man ? And the very centre of all the difficulties is the person
of Christ. These questions cannot be met by a proof of benevo¬
lent intention on the part of the Christian Church, nor even by
the strongest evidence that the Church of Christ has been the
greatest factor in human progress during the last two thousand
years. It will not even suffice to point to the present power of
Christ to transform a sinner into a saint. The mind, as well as
the heart, must be satisfied, and to this end we are forced
to the conclusion that only intellectual reason for belief can be
valid, and that such reasons cannot ultimately be replaced by
other grounds. Here then we have readied the second branch
of apologetics, that which appeals primarily to the reason, and
in which Christian philosophy and dialectic have the supreme
place.
We do well to remember that when apologetics has done
its work most thoroughly, it has only created the atmosphere in
which belief is possible and probable. The mind may be
convinced while the heart remains untouched, just as the heart
may urge consent while the mind is still clouded with doubt.
We must go even further and say that the mind may be con¬
vinced and the heart also urge to consent, while the will remains
obstinate, still requiring the life-giving touch of the Spirit,
which bloweth where it listeth, before the apologetic of gracious
deeds and cogent reasoning can issue in that complete surrender
of the whole man to the master Christ, which is the first step
in intelligent discipleship.
The function of apologetics being thus, by appeal to good
deeds on the one hand and sound reason on the other, to create
an atmosphere in which Christian belief is possible and
probable, we are brought to the question which is the com¬
prehensive and supreme question for every Christian mission¬
ary in this land, How can w^e help create an atmosphere for the
Chinese in which Christian belief is possible and probable, or,
in other words, “ What is the Apologetic for China ” ?
12 The Chinese Recorder [January
Before proceeding further, however, I must explain briefly
how, not having the profound scholarship necessary to treat
adequately such a subject as this, I can venture to write
this paper. The answer seems to me akin to the answer
to the similar questions “ How can a representative of our
imperfect Western and only so-called Christian civilization
venture to preach to another race at all?” We must, frankly
admit the defects of Western and of Christian civilizations, and
also the fact that both our theology and our apologetics are but
partially successful and complete, even from our Western point
of view. We are but beginning to know and to apply the pro¬
found teaching and life of Christ. Our social and even
individual problems are but partially solved. The Lord
Jesus Christ, whom we call Lord and Master, is not yet
absolutely supreme in even one individual life amongst us,
much less in the whole Church or the great civilizations
which bear His name. We venture to leave our own lands
and preach the Gospel to the Chinese because our Lord
commanded us to do so, and because the more we know of His
world the more we see it to be one world. We hope to see
soon established in China that life-bearing Church which shall
help this nation as it has helped ours, so that East and West
may together help each other make all the Kingdoms of this
world the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. No
individual can put off till he has reached perfection the obliga¬
tion of proclaiming to others the Savior he has found, tho he
knows that Savior calls him to perfection. Likewise no Church
and no nation can put off till all its members have reached the
plane of its best men, the obligation of making its best known
to the world.
Even so we who are in the midst of the Lord’s battle in
China cannot forbear to fight. It would be folly, and coward¬
ice also, to wait within our trenches or to retreat until the more
disciplined and better equipped soldiers whom we are sure will
follow later have actually arrived. However inadequately pre¬
pared we may be, we must now fight ^ with the best weapons
and the best strategy we can command. The fallacy of waiting
till perfectly equipped before ever uttering a word in defense of
the faith is almost as great as that of rushing into the great con¬
troversies of the faith with no thought that special preparation is
1910]
The Apologetic for China
13
needed. The fact is we are best prepared for the conflict, not in
the secluded study alone, but by forging a few weapons we know
how to use, and then proceeding to use them, learning more
of the strength and the weakness of both ourselves and the
enemy as the battle of our generation advances. As a matter
of fact I believe this is what most missionaries are doing, but
too few of us make a practical use of our growing experience
and knowledge. We need to review and revise our methods
and our attitude in the light of the constantly better under¬
standing we have of the Chinese people and of the atmosphere
in which they actually live. We ourselves are obliged to live
a kind of double life, partly in the atmosphere of our home
lands and partly in that of China. Our reading of the home
papers and of the books which are moulding the thought of the
West perform the essential office of keeping us in touch with
our home lands and with the Church at large, but it tends
rather to separate us from the atmosphere in which the
Chinese live. When our souls have been stirred by such read¬
ing, I am convinced that there is grave danger in turning at
once to our Chinese people and putting the message which
burns in our hearts almost as directly into a Chinese sermon
or address as we would into our own language for a congrega-
tion of our own race. Then arises that regrettable situation
wherein the only thing that really commends itself to the
Chinese congregation is the evident earnestness of the preach¬
er, and the kindly deeds which his earnestness leads him to
perform. The reason for his earnestness is hidden from them
almost as much as if lie were speaking a foreign language, and
the cause of this difficulty lies in the fact that the preacher has
failed to enter into the interests and thoughts of his people.
He has been so much concerned with delivering his own soul
that he has failed to ensure the understanding of his message
by those to whom it is addressed. I write this paper in the hope
that it may help, even if only in the smallest way, to the
understanding of the Chinese among whom we live, and to a
more effective adaptation of our deeds and our words to the
end of making it possible for them to believe. With this end
in view, let us ask first what are
14 The Chinese Recorder tJanuary
The Conditions Peculiar to China .
i. The proportions of the Chinese race are unique. As
Dr. Arthur Smith has pointed out, it surpasses all the races of
the present day in three important points; the antiquity and
continuity of its civilization, the vastness of its numbers, and
its social, literary, administrative, and religious homogeneity.
The sympathetic student need never weary in the pursuit of
any aspect of the life of the Chinese race; for variety is to be
found at every turn and there is no end to the stores of her
history, literature, art, philosophy, experience and practice of
government, and last but not least of her religious development.
There seems to be no smallest community in the whole of
China that does not harbor traditions of great men connected
with the really vital history of the nation’s past. Every Pre¬
fecture has its annals, and every family its genealogy, by which
the history of every locality and of almost every individual in
it can be traced back with fair accuracy for twenty or thirty
generations, and there can be little doubt that the general out¬
lines of the history are accurate for a period beginning several
hundred years before the time of Confucius—say from before
the time of Saul and David and Solomon. The administrative
genius of the race is impressed upon the traveller at every turn,
for he finds government carried on over the great areas and in
the midst of China’s millions with a general acquiescence in
the correctness of the theory, which prevails everywhere, and
a degree of submission on the part of the people at large, which
are sure marks of a high degree of civilization. Yet the chief
claims of the race to our consideration are to be found in its
literature and its religions; that is to say, in those very regions
where the most intense interest for the missionary is to be
found. The supremacy of the Chinese amongst the nations of
Asia has really been based upon this intellectual and moral
superiority, rather than upon any military or governmental
genius. The prevalence of a dessicated decadent Confucianism
for the past few hundred years has tended to obscure the writ¬
ings of the so-called unorthodox philosophers, but the younger
generation of scholars is bringing this mine of fertile reflection
on the problems of the universe to light, and we are confront¬
ed with a new world of ideas, and of terminology to fit the
same, drawn from these long neglected treasures of the past.
1910]
The Apologetic for China
15
I touch upon these familiar facts because I think there is
danger of forgetting how true and significant they are. To my
mind they constitute the first and most important peculiarity
with which we have to deal in making the confession of the
Christian faith possible in China. That China has been self-
satisfied in the past, and scornful of the rest of the world; and
that she has been rudely awakened from this self-complacency
by contact with nations materially stronger than herself
during the past generation, must not obscure from us the
fact that these outstanding features of Chinese civilization
must still be reckoned with. The nation is rapidly learn¬
ing how to make much of these things, not in the light
of ancient prejudice and ignorance but in the full blaze of
modern study and comparison with other races and nations.
The ambitious Chinese youth is not slow to draw the conclusion
which careful observers have made many a time, that the
Chinese is as good a man as walks the earth, and that given
equal opportunities he can hold his own with the best men of
other races. The success of those Chinese students who have
gone abroad in competition with western students at their own
universities is a proof of the virility and capacity of the Chinese
intellect. We do greatly err if we look upon this race as
decadent. It is rather partially arrested, and just now all signs
indicate that there is about to take place in China a renaissance
which will change the face of the earth.
2.—The second fact to be faced is the prejudice of the
Chinese against foreigners and against Christianity as foreign.
The prejudice appears to be due in part to the aggression and
more or less concealed contempt of the great military and com¬
mercial powers of the West, and partly to the growing sense of
nationality and real patriotism which in its first stages and
among the short-sighted multitude of the “young China” party
leads most naturally to over-wrought self-assertion and counter¬
contempt for the foreign powers, amongst whom in their heart
of hearts none more ardently than these very patriots crave a
place. The record of China’s foreign relations, especially with
so-called Christian powers, is not one of which we can be very
proud. Indeed we must hang our heads at the thought of the
way in which Chinese have been treated in America and at the
blundering and selfishness which until the most recent years
16
The Chinese Recorder
[January
have been too characteristic of great Britain’s treatment of the
opium trade in China. And we cannot but welcome the growth
of patriotism throughout China. The well nigh total absence
of this virtue among the Chinese twelve years or more ago was
one of those things which did more than most others to make
foreigners generally despise the Chinese as decadent, or as
somehow lacking in the essentials of manhood. To see Chinese
all over the Empire really indignant over a Chientao or “Tatsu
Marti ” affair is a welcome proof that the Chinese have the
quality or capacity for patriotism, without which it is hard to
imagine any nation being worthy to enter the family of nations.
But whatever is the cause of this prejudice against foreigners,
it is certainly a fact of primary significance when considering
what should be the Apologetic for China.
3. —The moral and religious endowments of the Chinese.
Nowhere in the world do the concepts of conscience, right and
wrong, and justice, have a more well-defined and universally
recognized meaning and obligation than in China. The
apparent indifference to these things on the part of the Western
governments, and especially the individuals who were nothing
more than pirates, during the early days of China’s contact with
the West, may well be the reason why prejudice against the
foreigner has gone so deep. The fact that these moral ideas do
not actually rule the conduct of the government or of the people
should not conceal from us the prevalence of these ideas, which
are in fact the glory of the Chinese people. Very closely related
to these moral ideas are the religious ideas of the people. How
difficult it is to separate clearly between these two regions in
China is shown by the controversy which is no less acute now
than it was in the early days as to whether Confucianism is a
religion or only a system of ethics and government. Taotai
Tong, at the Centenary Conference two years ago, calmly
assured us that both Confucianism and ancestor worship
contain no elements strictly religious as distinguished from
moral, and they do not inculcate anything akin to religious
worship. But certain it is that Confucianism and what we
know as ancestor worship do invest with something very
nearly akin to religious sanctions both in the state and the family.
The point to be noted here, however, is not so much whether
Confucianism should be classed as a religion or not, as the fact
1910] The Apologetic for China 17
that Confucianism holds the ground as that system of teaching
which most commends itself to rulers and people, and that its
chief emphasis is undoubtedly ethical.
Buddhism was welcomed in China because Confucianism
did not meet the religious needs of the people, but it was
peculiarly fitted for this task. Its principles and practices
regarding the use of force were agreeable to the Chinese, who
have never theoretically believed in war. Buddhism was pro¬
pagated, as Principal Grant puts it, “with an enthusiasm, self
abnegation and success, which the history of Christendom
cannot surpass, and it is the only one of the universal religions
that never sought to propagate itself by force or persecution, even
when it had the power.” No doubt it brought to China in some
considerable degree those benefits which for a time at least, as
Monier Williams tells us, it conferred on India and on Eastern
and Northern Asia generally. He says “ It introduced education
and culture; it encouraged literature and art; it promoted
physical, moral, intellectual progress up to a certain point; it
proclaimed peace, good-will, and brotherhood among men ; it
deprecated war between nation and nation ; it avowed sympathy
with social liberty and freedom; it gave back much indepem
dence to women; it preached purity of thought, word, and deed
(though only for the accumulation of merit); it taught self-
denial without self-torture; it inculcated generosity, charity,
tolerance, love, self-sacrifice and benevolence, even towards the
inferior animals; it advocated respect for life and compassion
towards all creatures; it forbade avarice and the hoarding of
money; and from its declaration that a man’s future depended
on his present acts and condition, it did good service for a time
in preventing stagnation, stimulating exertion, promoting good
works of all kinds, and elevating the character of humanity.”
That Buddhism has for centuries been well-nigh a spent
force in China can hardly be doubted, but there are signs of its
revival here as in Japan. In that illuminating little volume
by Dr. Timothy Richard, “ The *Awakeuing of Faith,” we have
evidence of how Buddhism, especially in the purer aspects of
the Mahayana School, or Northern Buddhism, appeals to
Confucianists who want more religious teaching than they
find in the Confucian classics. The former minister to Great
Britain, Eo Fung-lu, told me that he was a Buddhist,—and
18 The Chinese Recorder [January
though he did rather discount the statement by declaring later
that all Chinese officials, presumably including himself, were
“ hypocrites ” and repeated the assertion with emphasis, it was
evident that in his opinion Confucianism would never supply
elements which the Confucian scholar would surely need. A still
further evidence of the possible and indeed probable revival of
Buddhism in China is found in the fact that three at least of the
young men most responsible for the Emperor’s reform policy in
1898 were avowed and ardent Buddhists. One of these, the son
of the Governor T’an of Hupeh, was beheaded at the time of the
coup d'etat. The other two are still living. One of them, Kang
Yu-wei, usually residing in England or some other distant foreign
country, and tho rather vacillating and apparently ready to
change his view somewhat in order to meet the desires of those
nearest him at any particular time, and tho charged sometimes
with serious departures from the paths of virtue and rectitude,
seems to hold, intellectually at least, the same position as his
younger friend Liang Ch’i-ts’ao. Liang Ch'i-ts’ao’s religious
position can be fairly well ascertained from his numerous
writings, which constitute, indeed, one of the large factors in
the present intellectual life of China. I am sorry to say that I
have not read all the interesting essays which appear in his
“House of the Iced Drinks”—•“ Yin-pin-sze”—and its com¬
panion volume, nor have I even seen his more recent writings on
religious subjects, which I understand are also numerous, but I
think it highly significant that such a thoroughly drilled Confu¬
cian scholar should consider the general subject of religion as he
does, from several different points of view, discussed in successive
brief essays or chapters, and deliberately come to the conclusion
that Confucianism, even with all its admirable self-restraint and
good morals, cannot satisfy the religious instinct,—that Chris¬
tianity also fails to meet the need, but that Buddhism can and
must be heartily embraced by all true scholars and patriots.
Should Kang Yu-wei and Liang Chi-ts’ao be recalled to power,
as the Prince Regent is reported in the newspaper to have an¬
nounced his intention of doing, and if they still hold this
religious position, Buddhism may take on new life throughout
China. The comparative freedom of Buddhism from any
suspicious alliances with foreign powers would render such a
course popular with many young patriots.
J 910 ]
The Apologetic for China
19
In this connection it would be well to consider two points
about Buddhism which Dr. Richard brings out in the introduc¬
tion to his translation of “The Awakening of Faith,” above
referred to, namely,
1. The similarity of Buddhist doctrines, as set forth in this
marvelous book, with those of Christianity, especially in its
theism, its rejection of transmigration in favor of an immediate
entrance of the faithful departed into paradise, its emphasis on
faith as contrasted with works as the ground of salvation ; and
its granting a place (denied by the earlier Buddhism) to those
who would not become monks, but preferred to live in the world.
2 . The reason why Buddhism, being so vastly superior as
a religion to Confucianism, and having secured such wide
acceptance, should yet have failed to supplant Confucianism ;
namely, that Confucianism was intrenched in the schools of the
land, and having control of the educational system it retained
all influence and power: while Buddhism failed to instruct its
own people, even the priests, in its own doctrines, and so
degenerated into the nondescript religion it is in China to-day.,
no longer vitally distinguished in its own temples from its
former foes, Confucianism and Taoism.
I would also note “ the strength and weakness of Ordinary
Buddhism” as summarized in Dr. Richard’s translation entitled
“Guide to Buddhahood.” He says “The Strength lies in its
systematic arrangement of a complete view of the universe, its
aim to remove the suffering of all living beings by Ethics and
Union with the Supreme Divine Will which rules all.
“The Weakness lies in its indictment of the sexual element
in the Universe and its vain efforts to stamp it out; its count¬
less imaginary worlds and its imaginary beings inhabiting each,
its neglecting in China, where most of the Buddhists of the
world are, to take part in the practical improvement of the
material, social, educational and political conditions of men,
regarding all such things as compared with the eternal, nothing
but vanity! ”
Taoism is hardly a force to be considered, except as offer¬
ing the resistance of popular superstition to the advance of the
Truth in whatever way it appears, in the advance of the railway,
the mine, and the modern school, as well as in the cause of
true religion.
o
20 The Chinese Recorder [January
Nestorianism, however, should be noted as having occupied
for many generations a large place in the religious life of China,
beginning in the sixth or seventh century of our era, and ex¬
tending down to the time of the first Roman Catholic Mission¬
aries, in the 14th century. Such studies as that of the Rev.
W. S. Packenham Walsh, B.A., in the Chinese Recorder for
March and April 1908, help us to realize more vividly than
ever the richness of Chinese religious history, where it has so
often been thought to be quite barren.
Following this brief review of the moral and religious en¬
dowments of the Chinese, let us note two modern conditions
peculiar to China.
4. The New Learning. September, 1905, will always be
memorable in Chinese history as the date of the edict abolishing
tile system of government civil service examinations which
had been the bulwark of Confucianism and blind conservatism in
the struggle between the old and the new learning. It is doubt¬
ful whether the chaos at present prevailing throughout most of
the government schools, under the name of modern learning, is
an improvement intellectually or morally over the old system,
but it is certain that the old regime is gone forever. The ulti¬
mate issue of the change will be to bring China into closest in¬
tellectual contact, and no doubt also sympathy, with the rest
of the educated world. Meantime the situation is extremely
serious, students in government schools lend to throw off all
discipline and really serious work, after the example of numer¬
ous and noisy students who have returned from short courses
of study in Japan. Atheism, hitherto almost unknown in
China, is rampant, along with the abandonment of all the old
sanctions of decency and morality. In the Mission Schools
discipline is good, and foreign studies flourish, though this same
chaos in Chinese studies is controlled with difficulty, for the
very language is going through the pains of a new birth.
The situation calls aloud for constructive leadership in the for¬
mation of new religious as well as literary and moral ideals and
gives the Christian apologist a better opportunity than has
hitherto occurred in China.
5. The New National Movement. As the edict of Sep¬
tember 1905, above referred to, marked the beginning of a new
educational era in China, so the edict of a year later, promising
19101
The Apologetic for China
21
a constitution, marked the beginning of what has already be¬
come a new national movement. The nation is more nearly
alive than it has been for generations. Patriotism is a grow¬
ing passion, among the younger men especially, and along with
the passion for the new learning it is apparently the one thing
in which all intelligent men are interested. Before political
theories have crystalized, while all are studying as models
the actual working of Western nations, the people, especially
the leaders, are more open to impressions from without than
they have ever been, and also much more than they are likely
to be a few years hence.
6 . The Christian Church in China. Finally we must not
fail to record the fact that the Christian Church in China, com¬
posed of thousands of missionaries, tens of thousands of devot¬
ed Chinese pastors and evangelists, and hundreds of thousands of
Chinese converts, constitutes a factor of supreme importance in
any consideration of the apologetic for China. Here is the
foretaste of the fruit which Christianity when full grown will
bear in China, and to it the Christian apologist will be obliged
to appeal, no matter what other supports he needs for his posi¬
tion. We shall doubtless be much helped at many times, in
holding to true ideals of Church life and administration; if
we realize that the structure we are helping to rear will be
judged by the impartial eyes of the sane men of China, and in
accordance with their impression of our work they will repel or
welcome that for which we give our lives.
Bearing these facts in mind, we now turn to the crucial
question,
How can Christianity be made acceptable to the race which
lives under the conditions peculiar to China ? I think we must
at once realize that the first and fundamental work of apologe¬
tics in China must be what it has been and is everywhere else
in the world, namely, the argument of good deeds. If the rest
of mankind demands this proof of good faith before being ready
to listen to reasoned arguments, much more the Chinese, who
belong to the Eastern world, and who therefore share that which
is frequently declared to be characteristically oriental, namely,
the disposition to judge one’s meaning rather by actions than
by words. And we must recognize the right of any people to
demand that their prejudices and suspicions be removed by
[January
22 The Chinese Recorder
manifest deeds of good-will before we attempt to reason with
them as with friends.
The Christian apologist in China should be able to point to
the following kinds of good deeds as the fruit of the tree he
wishes to see planted and naturalized in China.
1. Good deeds of Christian Governments and Christian
peoples. We apologists should make it part of our business as
those who are sent to make Christian belief possible and pro¬
bable in China, to labor and to pray that the powerful nations
of the West from which we came and which bear the name of
Christ shall treat China in the spirit of the golden rule of
Christ, and by every possible means help China speedily and
with dignity to reach the point where she can be admitted on
equal terms into the family of nations.
2 . —Beneficent Christian institutions—schools of all grades
including the real University—will be especially attractive if they
guard the morals of their students and at the same time meet
even in part the passionate desire of the multitudes for the new
learning. Hospitals and refuges, and benevolences of all kinds,
have proven and still prove the most powerful apologetic in
many influential Chinese circles.
3. —Good and able men, products of Christian training and
influence, for all walks of life, including the government service.
None recognize more fully and heartily than the Chinese the
necessity of competent and right-minded men in order to
administer successfully the complicated affairs of the national life.
To “ Seek worthy men for the service of the state ” HU jfc Jf)
is a primary ambition of Confucianism, set forth in great
characters in the most conspicuous places, and any influence
which helps secure such men is sure to be welcomed.
4. —The gift of the beneficent and life-bearing Church of
the Living God, to be that of the Chinese themselves, led by
men to whom we have not grudged giving our very best, and
who are thus fitted for leadership in it. The most severe criti¬
cism I ever heard of Christian Missionaries in China was that of
a brilliant and zealous young man, the son of a Chinese pastor,
who had desired a modern education and could not get it in the
schools of the mission to which he belonged. He went to a
government school, and ultimately entered church work, but he
declared that he believed it the policy of his mission not to give
1910]
The Apologetic for China
2}
their best in education for fear their pupils, once in a position
of independence, would neglect the Christian ministry. If we
can treat our students with such generous confidence as will
both fit them for the largest usefulness and also elicit their
loyal support of the church, the very fact that the church has
the voluntary and enthusiastic support of such educated Chinese
men will be a powerful argument in its appeal to the Chinese
people. Nothing else will so fully meet the demands of the
new national spirit, for it will supply the religious element,
which is at present tile most conspicuous deficiency of Chinese
patriotism, and without which patriotism cannot be truly soxmd
or wholesome.
5.—Deeds and words which will promote national unity,
inter-racial good will, and social harmony. Intelligent Chinese
realize that the prejudice and distrust existing between Manchus
and Chinese, and between Chinese and foreigners, are the bane
of the nation. Rut these problems are the despair of statesmen.
Christianity is called to deal with these most difficult of all
problems, in China as elsewhere, and in helping to solve them
will win the unbounded good will of rulers and people alike.
Finally we turn to the difficult and delicate question of
how to meet the peculiarities of the Chinese mind, supposing
that the initial prejudice of the Chinese has been removed and
his real sympathy gained.
1. —-I shall put first and last the attitude of sympathetic
and generous appreciation of the Chinese race, its great propor¬
tions in the history of the whole world, and its manifest destiny
to play a great part in the future.
2. —Frank but always most friendly criticism of Chinese
failures. None more than the Chinese realize that true friend¬
ship means exhortation to do good and avoid evil as well as
merely saying the true and pleasant things.
3. —Expositions of Chinese religions,—actual studies to be
published for study and enlightenment. In most cases these
can now best be produced by Chinese and foreigners in collabora¬
tion. They should show patiently and in detail where Chinese
religious beliefs and practices are true and helpful, and also point
out where they contravene the truth and are hurtful to morals.
Among the essential qualifications of those who undertake
such expositions and studies I would place the following two.
24
The Chinese Recorder
[January
A. A hearty recognition that God has been working in
China in the past, and that we attribute the good here found to
God Himself,—the Light that lighteth every man that cometh
into the world. If it is true, as has been said, that every nation
has its Old Testament, how much more must we recognize in
the Confucian classics, and many Taoist and Buddhist writings,
the hand of the divine Schoolmaster preparing the way for the
Gospel if not actually leading this wonderful people to Christ?
And if an Old Testament prophet, writing in the fifth century
before Christ, could write as he did “My name is great among
the Gentiles, saith the Lord of Hosts,” how much more
should the Christian apologist of the twentieth Christian
century make these words apply to China, not only for the
stirring up of Christendom but for the true appeal they
make to the Chinese themselves?
B, Equally clear and explicit should be the apologist's
conviction that all men are now called upon to repent and
believe the good news of Jesus Christ; and that the presump¬
tion is in favor of, and not against, any belief or custom which
is associated closely with the Christian Church of the past
1900 years.
With these two qualifications of expectant charity and
wide vision, on the one hand, and of clear faith in the one only
Name by which we can be saved, on the other, I believe the
work of these expositions and studies is sure to be most fruitful
and to help immeasurably in creating an atmosphere in which
Christian belief is possible.
4. Impartial reviews of the benefits Christianity has
brought to the mind and the whole life of the West. Faber’s
“Civilization” has prepared the way for Christian faith in
many Chinese minds. This field is one in which the Chinese
are at present very susceptible, in view of their conviction that
in civil government and industrial and educational affairs they
must now learn from the West.
5. Frank and detailed expositions of the superiority of
Christian teaching. The Rev. C. W. Allan, in his admirable
article in the “Recorder” for Feb., 1908, to which I am greatly
indebted, calls attention, which has too long been diverted
elsewhere, to the fact that here is where we shall find most
common ground with the Chinese at the present time. They
1910J
The Apologetic for China
25
cannot appreciate as yet the full force of those historical and
philosophical arguments which appeal most powerfully to our
generation in the West; but they have gained by centuries of
insistence a profound respect for “teaching,” or “doctrine.” Such
an argument as that presented in Dr. Garvie’s chapter on “The
Characteristics of the Teaching,” in his “studies in the Inner
Life of Jesus,” meets the Chinese on their own ground, and
when applied in detail to Confucian and Buddhist teaching as
compared with that of Christianity will probably be more
popular and effective than any other line of argument in China
for many years to come.
6 . Gentle insistence on the supreme importance of the
Christian dynamic. Our faith does not “stand in the wisdom
of men, but in the power of God.” The Chinese are not un¬
acquainted with beautiful theories and persuasive words of
men’s wisdom, but they know also only too well how powerless
such theories and words are. At this point I think our
apologetic should go a step farther than Mr. Allan’s article
indicates, showing not only how the teaching of Christ shines
in contrast even to the excellences of the teaching of other
masters, but also how it deals with this additional and essential
question, namely ; Where is man to gain power to do what the
teaching has shown him to be right ? If our apologetic can
make plain how the aspiration of the mystic —who is not un¬
known in Chinese philosophy—is saved from vague speculation
and sentiment by being focussed upon the Person of the
historic Christ, who lived as a Jew in the days of His flesh, and
now lives, as the Risen One, with His Church and in the
hearts of His people forever, we shall have put the cap-stone
upon this part of our work. Ethics and philosophy will be
shown to find their fulfilment and completion in Christianity.
For the Chinese, as for the rest of mankind, Longfellow’s
words will be a true description of the ideal man’s hope and
faith :—
“That evermore beside him on the way,
The unseen Christ may move,
That he may lean upon His arm and say,
Dost Thou, dear Lord, approve?”
And with the coming of the hope that China may become
a nation in which the control of affairs shall rest in the hands
26
The Chinese Recorder
[January
of Chinese who thus walk with Christ, the fear, suspicion,
misunderstanding which Christianity now has to meet will
naturally pass away. There will still be opposition, and there
will still be work for apologetics to accomplish; but the citadels
will have been won, and Christian belief will be possible and
probable in China as in the West.
Evolution and Missions
BY BISHOP JAMES W. BASHEORD.
O UR aim is to strengthen faith by showing that science,
properly interpreted, is in harmony with Christianity in
its missionary form. George Adam Smith says, “God has
placed man on the earth in a threefold relation: that of Providence
toward a lower creation ; that of service toward his fellows ; that
of worship toward Himself.” If evolution is to lead to a more
thoughtful and tender relation to the world below us, it will
demand an enlargement of our humanity as well as an increase
of our faith.
I. Facts. I have not the slightest claim to scientific au¬
thority. I simply try to keep familiar in a general way with the
established results of scientific investigation.
(i) However repugnant such conclusions may be to some,
I suppose that we must accept the general facts of evolution.
The Encyclopedia Britannica probably is the most authoritative
publication on scientific subjects in the English language. The
Supplement to the last edition of the Britannica uses this
language : “ Evolution from their predecessors of the forms of
life now r existing must be taken as proved.” I suppose this
conclusion represents the consensus of British scientific opinion.
In the United States there is not a university or college of
any scientific standing in which evolution in some form is not ac¬
cepted. An enterprising reporter interviewed the members of
the American Scientific Association a few years ago and publish¬
ed the fact that evolution in some form was accepted by them
with substantial unanimity. In France and Germany evolution
is accepted in all scientific circles with even greater unanimity
than in the United States and Great Britain. Hence the
Britannica probably is justified ip concluding the article referred
Evolution and Missions
27
1910 ]
to with the statement: “We are living in the midst of a
revolution in the general tendencies of knowledge which is
without parallel in the past history of mankind.”
(2) While science recognizes only one cause acting through¬
out the universe, yet she herself compels scientists to use the
word uniformity in only a general sense. Science speaks of a
long, long period in which our earth was slowly condensing and
taking form before life appeared upon our planet. The emergence
of the vegetable kingdom was a decided advance upon the
uniformity which had reigned for milleniums. And the vast
majority of scientists account for the appearance of life as due to
creative impulse. There was a similar advance due to a similar
creative impulse when consciousness emerged in the first sentient
beings. The Bible unites with science in assuring us that there
was a similar creative impulse when man first appeared upon our
globe. “God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and
man became a living soul.” The Bible transcends but does not
contradict science when it asserts that Christ appeared by a
similar impulse from the Almighty. Indeed the scientific
doctrine which represents each new species as due on one side to
an indwelling development of existing species, and on the other
to an added impulse from the Creator, rather than creation de
novo , is confirmed by such light as the Bible throws upon creation.
In the incarnation God did not neglect the highest species he had
thus far created. Upon the contrary he acted upon and through
one of the highest beings of the highest species he had thus far
produced. “ The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, wherefore
also the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of
God,” is the New Testament description of the birth of Christ
and the inauguration of the spiritual kingdom on earth. Judg¬
ing the briefer account of the creation of Adam by the fuller
account of the incarnation must we not also believe that God did
not create man de novo , but by acting upon and through the
highest beings He had thus far created ? It is no more degrad¬
ing to man to suppose that he was produced from the dust of the
earth, refined and quickened by the creative and sustaining
activity of God through preceding ages, than to suppose that God
formed him out of the nearest clay bank. Christian evolution
teaches man’s connection with and obligation to care for the
whole creation beneath him.
28 The Chinese Recorder [January
(3) Science, not universally, but generally and increasingly,
is affirming a Personal Spiritual Creator of the universe. Not
all the scientists go so far. But all agree that the cause operat¬
ing throughout the universe has intelligence and elements of
morality in it; some add that they have no scientific warrant for
denying that the cause is personal: they simply confess their
ignorance at this point and proclaim themselves agnostics. All
are substantially agreed in rejecting materialism. Haeckel
confessed in The Riddle of the Universe that he stood almost
alone among philosophers in his materialistic monism. Not a
university of recognized philosophic standing today is teaching
the crass materialism of a generation ago. Many scientists
advance beyond a spiritual interpretation of the universe and
hold that the same law of causation which compels them to
posit intelligence in the first cause because they find intelligence
in the result will compel them with a little more thought to
posit personality in the first cause, because they find that also in
the result. Hence Tord Kelvin, the leading scientific authority
of Great Britain, wrote in 1903 : “ Science positively affirms
creative power.” Professor George J. Romanes began his
teaching as an avowed agnostic and wrote the keenest criticism
of the theistic argument produced in modern times. But long and
profound thinking led him to the theistic basis and indeed to the
acceptance of Christianity. A fair classification of Darwin will
leave him among the agnostics to the last; though with that
candor which characterized him he admitted that the appear¬
ance of personality at the end of the evolutionary process made
the hypothesis of a personal being at the beginning of the pro¬
cess probably the most rational explanation of the universe.
His great companion, Wallace, who, according to Darwin’s own
testimony, discovered the doctrine of evolution jointly with
himself always remained a theist and a Christian. Immanuel
Kant, the greatest modern philosopher, taking rank indeed with
Aristotle and Plato, wrote: “It is impossible to contem¬
plate the fabric of the world without recognizing the hand of
God.”
(4.) The fuller study of nature and man has led to the al¬
most total rejection of the utilitarian interpretation of evolution.
Darwin published “The Origin of Species” in 1859, just fifty
years ago. Herbert Spencer, who already was a utilitarian,
Evolution and Missions
29
published a remarkable essay in the “ Westminster Review”
(i860) in which he claimed that Darwin had furnished the
scientific basis for the utilitarian philosophy. The greatest
happiness of the greatest number is the utilitarian goal of his¬
tory. But by happiness the utilitarians often mean material
enjoyment, and by the greatest number the greatest number
now living. Mr. Spencer maintained that the State and the
Church for which men are often called to sacrifice their lives
are mere abstract terms; that neither the State nor the Church
is capable of suffering or enjoyment. Hence it is folly for any
one to die for them. Mr. Spencer added : “ Here is the ever¬
lasting reason why the welfare of the citizen cannot rightly be
sacrificed to some supposed benefit of the State, but why on the
other hand the State is to be maintained for the benefit of the
citizens.” Hence Mr. Spencer condemned monuments and the
memorials in Westminster Abbey as tending to draw men away
from their real goal in life—the seeking of personal happiness;
and he regarded all martyrs as the victims of a false philosophy.
Mr. Huxley went even further and wrote : “I have little doubt
that the moral sentiments originated, as other natural phenom¬
ena, by the processes of evolution. But as the immoral sen¬
timents are no less evolved, there is as much sanction for the
one as for the other. The thief and the murderer follow nature
just as much as the philanthropist.”
The difficulty with this crass interpretation of evolution
was that it could not be lived. We are in a world of struggle;
and any state or society, or family which attempts to embody
this selfish doctrine of utilitarianism in life simply disintegrates
and disappears. Hence in the evolutionary struggle for ex¬
istence the utilitarian interpretation was condemned by the
scientific test of experiment. Hence Mr. Spencer after sixteen
years more of thought and observation abandoned his old posi¬
tion in 1876 and wrote as follows : “Although egoism biologi¬
cally considered comes before altruism, yet from the dawn of
life altruism lias been no less essential than egoism. Self-
sacrifice is no less primordial than self-preservation. ” So that
also Mr. Huxley finding that obedience to conscience which
often involved self-sacrifice was necessary to the highest civiliza¬
tion, thought he found in nature two opposing cause's, one of
which he characterised as cosmic evolution in which animals
30
The Chinese Recorder
[January
and men advance by following their selfish instincts, the other
of which he called ethical evolution in which man advances to
the higher civilization by obeying his conscience. In his essay
on “ Evolution and Ethics ” he says : “ The ethical process is
opposed by the cosmic process.” Again he adds: “Ethical
progress means the checking of the cosmic process at every
step.” “ Let it be understood once for all that the ethical pro¬
gress of society depends not on imitating the cosmic process,
still less in running away from it, but in combating it.” He
adds these noble words : “ It may seem audacious to pit the
microcosm against the macrocosm .... but the intelligence which
has converted the brother of the wolf into the faithful guardian of
the flock ought to do something towards curbing the instincts
of the savage in civilized man.” Mr. Huxley, although a pro¬
fessed agnostic in regard to the supernatural claims of the Bible,
nevertheless boldly advocated putting this Book into the public
schools of England on the ground that the Bible is “ the un¬
rivaled instrument for the moral culture of the race,” and that
this unrivaled instrument of moral culture should be placed in
the hands of every child in England.
If evolution is the method by which the Creator has
brought the universe into existence; and if this Creator is Jesus
Christ; if all things were made through Him and without Him
was not anything made that hath been made, we ought to find
some prints of Christ’s hand in this evolutionary process.
(i) In the vegetable kingdom we get illustrations of the
law of love. It is true that vegetation obeys the law of self-
regard ; and self-regard in itself is not sinful. Jesus commanded
us to love our neighbours as ourselves, thus implying self-love.
He further gave us the half-commandment, half-promise, “ye
therefore shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Hence self-preservation and self-perfection are not only laws of
nature but laws of God.
But self-preservation is not the deepest law of the vegetable
kingdom. That law is the law of seed and fruit-bearing found
in the first chapter of Genesis: “ Herbs bearing seed and fruit
trees yielding fruit after their kind, wherein is the seed thereof.”
What is the object of the production of fruit and seeds? Not
to benefit the individual herb or tree bearing them. The ob¬
ject is the perpetuation of the species and the service of higher
1910]
Evolution and Missions
Jt
orders. And seed and fruit-bearing is the fundamental law of
the vegetable kingdom because it is the law by which that
kingdom is preserved. A striking illustration of this law is
found in the apple tree which pours forth its strength in fruit
and seeds until it has not sap enough left to carry it through
the winter. The farmer says expressively: “ It is winter
killed.” What is this but a hint of Calvary in the vegetable
kingdom? Sidney Lanier, with au equal insight into the heart
of nature and the heart of Christ, sings with slight variations
of Christ’s visit to the trees in the Garden of Gethsemane:
“ Into the woods my Master went,
Clean forspent, forspent;
Into the woods my Master came,
Forspent with grief and shame.
But the olives were not blind to Him,
The little gray leaves were kind to Him,
The thorn-tree had the mind of Him,
As into the woods He came.
Out of the woods my Master went,
And He was well content ;
Out of the woods my Master came
Content with grief and shame.
Companions slept, and fled at last,
The olive trees remained steadfast,
Buds whispered that death could not last,
As out of the woods He came. ”
Passing from the vegetable to the animal kingdom we find
a yet fuller embodiment of the law of love. Professor Koessler,
Dean of the Faculty of St. Petersburg University, read a remark¬
able paper a few years ago in which he calls Darwin’s the greatest
name in the modern world, but rejects completely the crass
utilitarianism of the earlier evolutionists and declares that even
Darwin construed nature too narrowly and maintains that we
must recognize the social instincts among animals and their co¬
operation as an important factor in evolution. Prince Kropatkin
in a recent volume “ Mutual Aid a Factor in Evolution ”
shows that animals go in herds and flocks and schools, and
furnishes many illustrations of co-operation in the animal king¬
dom. In France Espinas published in 1880 a valuable book on
32
The Chinese Recorder
[January
“Animal Societies' ’ in which he dwells upon the social atid altru¬
istic instincts of animals. The same year J. L. Lanessan advanced
a distinct modification of the old view of evolution as a selfish
struggle, in a paper entitled “The Struggle for Existence and
Association for that Struggle .” In England Huber and Sir
John Lubbock have shown that the marvellous development 6f
the brain of ants and bees is due to their social co-operation.
Better still, the facts which are plain to even laymen will lead to
the triumph of the later views. The deepest law of the animal
kingdom—the law by which alone the animal kingdom is
perpetuated and propagated, is not the law of savagery but the
law of motherhood, the law by which the mother brings forth her
young at the cost of great pain to herself and by which both
parents nourish and protect their young with their own sub¬
stance and sometimes with their lives. Hence in the animal
kingdom are the marks of Him by whom all things were made
and without Him was not anything made that hath been made.
We may frame the latest discoveries of evolution in the two
following laws: First, the evolutionary struggle is not only a
struggle between individuals of the same species for which
fecundity furnishes the material, but is also and chiefly a struggle
between groups, between species, between orders. The Phyllox¬
era which proved so destructive to the French vineyards spread
in colonies with more co-operation than struggle between the
individuals composing the colony. Success in combating the
Phylloxera was due to Pasteur’s discovery that the Lady Beetle
devours this scale by myriads. Hence one species was introduc¬
ed into the vineyards to battle against another species. So fully
is this new law recognized that it is followed in combating most
diseases. The physician aims first to discover what parasite or
microbe produces the disease and then what other species will
destroy that microbe and then he pits species against species.
First then, the evolutionary struggle is chiefly a struggle between
species.
Passing from the animal to the human kingdom, we find
abundant illustration of the second law in the evolutionary
struggle, viz., that in the battle between species, between
orders, between nations, the triumph or the survival of the species
is in exact proportion to the willingness of the individuals-which
compose the species to -sacrifice themselves- for the-good of the
1910]
Evolution and Missions
33
whole. Patriotism, which Mr. Spencer originally condemned,
is found to be the very basis of national existence. It was
surprising that the Japanese, who had accepted Mr. Spencer’s
utilitarian philosophy more fully than any other nation, the
moment they came to a life and death struggle with Russia
abandoned the utilitarian philosophy and accepted, so far as it
related to the nation, the Christian law of love as measured by
sacrifice. The triumph of the family, the nation, and the race is
in exact proportion to the sacrifice of the individuals who
compose it for the good of the whole. Here is another finger
print upon creation by Him by whom all things were made.
Henry Drummond published in 1904 the Lowell
Lectures on “The Ascent of Man" a book the philosophical
significance of which has not yet been fully realized by
scientists. But the most notable contribution to the modified
view is Benjamin Kidd’s “Social Evolution .” Mr. Kidd
like Mr. Huxley apparently is puzzled by the phenomena
which confront him in the conflicting tendencies to selfishness
and to service which he finds in man. He proclaims that the
altruistic motive which prompts to service and sacrifice is
ultra-rational, i.e. beyond reason. And yet he shows by indis¬
putable scientific evidence that the progress of civilization
depends upon man’s obedience to this altruistic instinct. It is
a striking recognition of Mr. Kidd’s ability that the editors of
the Britannica have chosen him as the apparent successor of
Mr. Huxley and that he furnishes two leading articles on evolu¬
tion in the Supplement to the last edition.
Turning from these articles to a study of human history
shows that even before Christ came in the flesh and authorita¬
tively announced the law of love, the noblest spirits on earth
already had recognized it. In the Horatii dying at the bridge
for Rome, in the friendship of Damon and Pythias, in Arnold
von Winkelried gathering the spears of his country’s enemies
into his own bosom and dying for his native land, in the thous¬
ands and tens of thousands of brave men—Englishmen, Ameri¬
cans and Japanese, men of all lands and all climes and all
tongues, who counted their lives not dear unto themselves
that they might save their country; we recognize this highest
quality of humanity. This imperious summons to offer one’s
life in defence of one’s home or state or church is not “an irri-
34 The Chinese Recorder [January
descent dreamit transcends but it does not contradict the
impulse of self-regard.
Great Britain lost the American colonies because she had
not then learned that the law of love applies in politics and
especially to distant colonies. She is holding Canada and
Australia because she is treating them as a mother treats a
daughter. Despite all criticisms of British rule in India, some
of which are just, this great fact stands out: The population
of India when England began her rule was substantially
100,000,000; today that population is substantially 300,000,000.
Again the same fact appears in another form : some two-thirds
of the territory of the empire is wholly under British rule and
the population averages 279 to the square mile; one-third is
under native rule with little interference from Great Britain,
and here, with land almost as rich, the population averages no
per square mile. The people of India and the civilized world
will under Divine Providence retain British rule in India or,
if they once throw it off, speedily return to it, if Great Britain
thus continues to serve this Indian Empire. Love shown by
service is the gravitation which holds empires and colonies
together in the world. So the United States has rendered the
Filipinos still greater service than Britain has rendered the
Indians. Japan has surpassed both the United States and
Great Britain and Germany in applied science at the Univer¬
sity of Tokyo. What other university in the world has twenty
professors in engineering alone? What other country has
equalled Japan in reducing the number of soldiers dying from
disease in a campaign as compared with those lost in battles?
If, as Japan has surpassed the other nations in some of the fruits
of our higher civilization, she also surpasses both Great Britain
and the United States in her treatment of the Koreans as a
colony, the Divine Providence, the partial acquiescence of the
Koreans, the judgment and conscience and money of the civi¬
lized world will enable her to hold Korea, despite any efforts
of Russia to dislodge her. But if Japan exploits and oppresses
the Koreans until she drives them to rebellion and
turns judgment and the conscience and wealth of Christen¬
dom against her and loses the divine favor, her ten
million unhappy Korean subjects will be only a source of
weakness ; aud it will be easy some time during the next
19 to]
Evolution and Missions
35
quarter of a century for Russia to help the Koreans to push her
back across the channel. The Golden Rule is not only good
politics, it is the only practical politics.
So essential is our love of neighbors and our service of
humanity to the progress of the race that the Creator has
interwoven this altruistic sentiment into the very texture of
society. The family is a divine organism by which God calls
us out of the selfishness of pure individualism into the mutual
companionships and services of the home. So society is the
divine method by which God calls us out of the narrower life
of the family into the larger life of the neighborhood. And the
State is a divine institution by which God calls us out of the
narrower sympathies of the clan into patriotic devotion to the
commonwealth. “The powers that be are ordained of God/’
The Church is the last and highest aud divinest institution on
earth in which God teaches us that He hath made of one
blood all the peoples of the earth aud in which through our
service to humanity all the nations of the earth shall be blest.
Upon this Rock, i.e., the rock of Jesus’ Messiaship, of His sacrifice
of Himself for the salvation of the world, God has founded His
Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. The
entire history of our globe from the first appearance of seed-
bearing in the vegetable Kingdom to the death of Christ upon
the cross bears the imprint of Him by whom all things were
made and without whom not anything was made that hath
been made. It is very striking and it shows one cause operat¬
ing throughout nature that the same law of love which we find
manifesting itself in the fruitfulness of the vegetable Kingdom,
in motherhood and the social instincts in the animal kingdom,
in the family and society and the State and Church in the
human kingdom, reaches its culmination in Christ’s death upon
the cross for the redemption of the race.
But if the Christian Church rises above the State and is
the supreme embodiment of the law of love which first begins
to emerge in the vegetable kingdom, in like manner missions
rise above local and denominational lines and become the
highest manifestation of Christianity. Moreover looking for¬
ward to the conquest of the world under the everlasting law of
struggle and survival of the fittest, the fittest in this case will
be found to be not simply the strongest but that which is most
3«
The Chinese Recorder
[January
servicable to the race. Remember that one of the later laws of
evolution is that the triumph of the species is measured by the
sacrifice of the members who compose it. Only that religion
which is most intensely missionary on the one side and which
is most helpful to the race upon the other side has any prospect
of final victory. Who can doubt that in the ongoings of his¬
tory Christianity with its pure and holy God, Christianity with
its redemption from sin through Jesus Christ, Christianity with
its law of love and its service to humanity, Christianity with its
power of self-propagation through the Holy Spirit, Christianity
with its hopes of eternal blessedness, is destined to triumph. '
We are not left to faith alone for this vision. Under the
principle of evolution applied to human history for the last two
thousand years Christ is slowly blit surely gaining the ascendency.
There was a Christian population—not a Christian Church, but
a Christian population of 50,000,000 at the end of the one
thousand years of struggle; of 100,000,000 at the end of the
next five hundred years of struggle ; of 200,000,000 at the end
of the next three hundred years of struggle ; of 400,000,000 at
the end of the next one hundred years of struggle. This
is a growth in almost geometrical ratio. It took one thousand
years to gain the first 50,000,000 of Christian population;
it took one hundred years to gain the last 200,000,000
of Christian population—an advance of forty fold. We re¬
cognize how exceedingly imperfect is our existing so-called
Christian civilization. But if even this imperfect embodiment
of Christianity tends to supplant all other faiths, what will not
the more perfect embodiment of the Golden Rule accomplish ?
And we may confidently look forward to this more perfect em¬
bodiment. At this point history is re-inforced by prophecy.
What reason have we to suppose that an evolutionary process
which has been operating possibly for a million years and which
has resulted in higher and higher types of life is to stop with an
imperfect type of humanity. Is the present ignorant, impotent,
sinful human race so high and holy that creation has reached
its culmination in us? The very unrest of man in his present
sinful state and the very visions of holiness and helpfulness
which visit us by day and haunt us in our dreams by night are
prophecies of a higher type of life. Now turning to the New
Testament we find this probability of a higher type of man
i9io]
The Work of the Evangelistic Association
37
which grows out of the entire history of life upon our globe
confirmed by prophecy. “ Ye therefore shall be perfect as your
Father in heaven is perfect.” A New Humanity in Christ is
the clear teaching of the New Testament. And we already
have in the presence of the Holy Spirit the power which will
fill us with all the fullness of God. Science and the New
Testament unite in prophesying a new and a higher type of
man, and the New Testament reveals the Holy Spirit as the
power already in the world through whom and by whom and
with whom the New Humanity in Christ is to be constituted.
Surely if the imperfect form of the New Humanity in Christ
thus far developed is supplanting all ether religions on the globe
what may we not expect when Christian men and women come
to the fullness of Him who filleth all in all? Thus under the
evolutionary struggle Missions, which are the highest existing
embodiment of Christianity; Missions, which use the applied
sciences to put each man and race to which they minister in
harmony with present environment; Missions, which strive to
put all men through faith into harmony with the environment
which will exist when the earth shall disappear; Missions, which
aim to bring each man into harmony with himself and all races
into harmony with God, are bound to endure and triumph be¬
cause they lead humanity to that “ far off divine event to which
the whole creation moves.”
The Work of the Evangelistic Association
BY REV. J. R. MILLER.
HIS Association is a product of the Centenary Con¬
ference. In considering the great problem of the
Evangelization of China it was felt that the time had
come for a forward movement and that this should be on a
systematic and comprehensive scale.
The object of the Association is to stimulate the evange¬
listic spirit and facilitate this common desire. Other Associa¬
tions on the field have done excellent work. The Missionary
Associations at the different centres have developed a com¬
radeship which makes united effort possible and successful.
The Educational Association has raised the standard of
38 The Chinese Recorder [January
educational work. It has introduced the spirit of thorough¬
ness, and given its best to a progressive system.
The Medical Association is full of possibility and is
destined to scatter its beneficence over the whole land. It has
a great work to do, and it will do it. These departments of the
work are alive to the vast opportunities and are eager to meet
them. I am sorry, however, that the Evangelistic Association,
which is the most important, should be so late in coming on to
the field. Now that it has come, I trust it will be a spirit of
power, working in and through every branch of missionary
enterprise. It has not come as a rival to institutional work,
but rather as the breath of life which by virtue of its living
energy, will help it.
The great objective of all missionary work is soul-winning.
The Christian educator is not satisfied with intellectual conquest
only. He desires to see the mind under the control of grace,
beautified and strengthened by things divine, and yet his time
and energy are so spent in the duties of his profession, that he
must be content with a fragmentary exercise in direct evange¬
listic work. The medical missionary stands before the public
as the embodiment of goodness. Under the shadow of the
Great Physician he practices the healing art. As the evil
disease retreats before his skill and patience, deep down in his
heart of hearts he hopes that the patient will find rest to his
soul. But he too is so pressed by the multitude, that he has
little or no time to give to direct evangelistic work. The
special work of the evangelist is the cure of souls. It is a great
responsibility as well as privilege. The Association wishes to
emphasize this work, to bring it to a position commensurate
with the need, and it desires to do so not at the expense of
institutional work. The soul-need of the Empire, however, is
so vast, so deep, so urgent, that some gigantic effort must be
made in order that this primary purpose of the gospel may
have its rightful place.
In the sphere of economics we see what division of labour
has done for the industrial world. It has greatly increased the
output and widened in a phenomenal manner the field of
exchange. Since commerce called in the aid of science, re¬
markable discoveries and great advances in material progress
have been made. If we turn our eyes to the New Testament
1910]
The Work of the Evangelistic Association
39
we find the Apostle to the Gentiles exhorting Timothy to do
the work of an evangelist, to be instant during all seasons.
According to the report of the Evangelistic Committee, less
than one half of the whole missionary staff is now engaged in
direct evangelistic work, and the proportion is as large as it is,
only because of the fact that out of six hundred and seventy-
eight members of the China Inland Mission, five hundred and
sixty are in direct evangelistic work. With all the manifest and
substantial need, it is evident that a mighty effort is required.
In this land there are still over one thousand walled cities
unoccupied. There are also thousands of towns, and thousands
and thousands of villages, where the light of the Gospel has not
entered* The great mass of the people is yet untouched. The
committee has estimated that to meet this need, three thousand
two hundred more men, and sixteen hundred women, specially
qualified as leaders and organizers, should be forthcoming
within the next ten years, and that 150,000 Chinese Evangelists
should co-operate with them. It is absolutely necessary that
this expected re-inforcement should be specially endowed with
gifts suitable for this work. Like Gideon’s three hundred, they
should be efficients of the highest type.
The Association in its desire to stimulate evangelistic
effort would advocate efficiency on the part of those who
undertake it. In doing this it does not underestimate the
value of the work done in the past; rather it records its thank¬
fulness to God for the many noble men and women who have
served the cause faithfully and also for those who are at
present devoting their talents, strength and love to this work.
As the national system of education extends and is perfected,
the thought of the people will grow, and their powers of
conception will be enlarged. They will begin to learn,
admire and reverence in an increasing measure the story of
their own evolution and laud the secret of their continuity.
The polemical spirit will be strengthened and they will stand
entrenched behind intellectual and moral problems. This we
do not fear, but we must be prepared to deal witli it.
The Evangelist cannot afford to be slipshod in the
language. He should be an expert. The missionary who
thinks he can dispense with a teacher and find out for himself
the treasures of the language, is under a delusion, and the
40
The Chinese Recorder
[January
missionary, who imagines that after he has passed the pre¬
scribed sections of study is once and for all equipped for his life
work, is deceiving himself. The most serious handicaps in life
are generally self-imposed, and the missionary who is unfaithful
in the duty of language-study is crippling his whole career.
Character is always superior to ability, yet the latter is not to
be despised, more especially the genius for hard work. Our
Chinese colleagues are not slow in estimating the business
element of our position. They know the approximate expense
of a missionary and his family on the field. They know the
amount of work done by him, its quality and its results. A-
longside of this, they place their own record, and too often they
find that the man with the small pay is the one who carries the
heavy end of the log. If through slackness we are inefficient,
we lose the respect of our Chinese brethren and eat up un¬
worthily the funds of the mission Boards. Every conscientious
missionary will do his utmost to maintain an acceptable position
in both the written and spoken language of the people.
But the evangelist should not only excel in the language,
he should be well versed in Comparative Religion, and certainly
in those religions which are indigenous. This is imperative,
not so much to meet the educated as to enlighten the masses
that are woefully ignorant of the prevailing systems. Outside
of the literati there are crowds that bow down blindly to idols,
and many who claim to be followers of the Confucian cult are
not able either to read or write.
In dealing with the intellectuelles it is also necessary to
understand Chinese philosophy and to be familiar with the text
of the classics. It is not wise, however, to approve of teachings
which are contrary to any of the cardinal doctrines of Chris¬
tianity. The nature of man is considered by Mencius to be
good, and this has for generations been the accepted belief.
But the middle school as represented by Han Wen Kong is
perhaps nearer the truth when it says that “the heart of man is a
piece of ground with neither good nor bad seed, and largely
dependent upon its environment.” Then the theory of Hsiiin
Tsi that the nature of man is evil and only evil, will staud
alongside the picture we have in the third chapter of Romans.
The teaching of Meh Tsi on universal love comes very near
Christian altruism. Amongst the progressive leaders of thought
1910 ] The Work of the Evangelistic Association 41
‘ Poh ai ’ is no longer scorned as an utopian dream, but is re¬
cognized as the goal towards which every exponent of virtue
should press, so that the morning might soon break when “ Adi
men’s good shall be each man’s rule.” Again, the evangelist
should be brave enough to deal with the problem of sin. The
struggle to overcome it is common to the human race. AlaSj
however, human defences have long since been broken down
and the waters of evil have overwhelmed and cursed
humanity. The thoughtful and observant student of history
finds that intellectualism alone is no proof against tempta¬
tion. The civilization of material improvement is one thing,
that of moral and spiritual improvement is another. In Japan
I was greatly struck by the conclusion at which many of the
Chinese students had arrived. They were quick to recognize
the advancement of Japan and yet they said that Japan had
failed to deal satisfactorily with the social evil. One, in the
spirit of despair, said to me, “ what is to become of my
country? Tomorrow we may step into line with the march of
nations, but the social question will remain unsolved.” Here is a
great opportunity for showing wherein Christianity differentiates
from other religions, for all who are partakers of the Christ-life
are free from sin, in other words, “ sin has no more dominion
over them.” The remedy for sin, as found in the Gospel, is the
great apologetic for China. Confucius, after his tour through¬
out the different states, said ; “my teaching will not go.” In
another place he said: “I find no one who loves virtue as he
loves pleasure.” Referring to his own life he said: “If
providence would add to my years I might possibly get rid of
my big faults-” It is true that during his administration in the
state of Loo, the people were happy and prosperous. “A thing
dropped on the road was not picked up ; there was no fraudulent
carving of vessels ; coffins were made of the ordained thickness 5
o-raves were unmarked by mounds raised over them, and no two
prices were charged in the markets.” This condition of things
however quickly changed. The duke of his native state began
to find a forced ethical life somewhat irksome. Beautiful
girls, well-skilled in music and dancing, and fine horses, were
sent from the neighbouring states to him, and these attractions
completely captured him. The songs from those pretty lips
were more fascinating than the stories of a pedantic old man.
42
The Chinese Recorder
[January
His hopes were blasted and he stood helpless before the onward
march of evil. Shall we not say that the failure of Con¬
fucianism is due to the fact that he based his hope on man and
not on God? The system is destitute of spiritual dynamic.
The evangelist should also be a humanist. He should
know men and be in sympathy with them. Here I must
refer once more to the need of studying Chinese history and
literature. Contact with the people, of course, will reveal much
to us, but if we fail to get behind the traditions of Chinese
thought, our knowledge of them will be largely superficial.
We must concede to them liberty of thought and action and
never intrude our ideas. I remember a young missionary, who
was more zealous than wise, doing a very absurd thing. He
was walking in one of the residential streets of the city, and as
he passed a door he noticed a number of Buddhist priests
Engaged in a funeral service. They were kneeling before the
family altar which was heavily laden with incense and sacrifices.
Without a moment’s hesitation be walked into the house, and
put his hand upon the bald pates of the priests, one after the
other, repeating in rather a gruff voice, “puli hao tih fah-tsi, puh
hao tih fah-tsi.” The great secret of D.L. Moody’s success was
liis largeness of heart. Professor Drummond said “he was the
biggest human he had met.” This work above all needs men
who are peculiarly separated unto God, who will give them¬
selves unreservedly to it and who have a deep controlling
passion for souls. Scholarship, gifts, however brilliant, will
not realize the objective, unless there be the enduement of
power. It may appear to you as if I had said too much on this
familiar subject, but I have felt that to magnify the office is
the best way to emphasize the need for the Association.
Now let me sav something about the duties of the Associa-
tion. From the beginning it should be understood that it will
only attend to the essentials. It will give evangelism the first,
second and third place. It will not interfere with the duties
which properly belong to missionary boards. It will not seek
to enlarge its domain or enrich itself at the expense of other
branches of the work, but it will strenuously try to prevent
evangelism being relegated to a secondary position. It will sound
afresh the marching orders of the Church, “Go ye into all the
world and preach the gospel to every creature.” It will hold
1910] the Work of the Evangelistic Association 43
to the Apostolic determination “ to know none among men but
Christ and Him crucified.” The glories of the Cross of Christ
will be its crown. Some years ago I had the privilege of
attending the assembly meetings of the Free Church of Scot¬
land. Dr. Joseph Parker of Loudon had been invited by the
Committee of Religion and Morals to address the ministers and
elders of that historic gathering. After a most informing and
inspiring deliverance he concluded his appeal by a beautiful
passage, “ Bind your genius round the cross and God will send
showers of blessing upon your ministry, exalt it above the
Cross and God will send a withering wind that will blast it
for ever.’’
The Association will seek to select and prepare suitable
literature for this work. We are already much indebted to
the tract societies for the good work they have done, but we
feel that in this department there are still great possibilities
It will also seek to promote special evangelistic services. With¬
in the last few years good results have followed certain efforts
of this kind. It is evident the need exists and in a sense is
urgent. There are at most of the older mission centers large
numbers who have an intellectual concept of the Christian faith.
From their manner of life, however, it is plain that they
have little experimental knowledge of Christ as Saviour.
A series of evangelistic meetings, conducted by men sent by
God, would be sure to obtain excellent results. These
special efforts would gather in the fruit of many years of
patient toil. Of course separate missions may set apart men
for this work and local effort may be crowned with good
success, but this should not in any way hinder a large and
united campaign. In addition to this, conventions for the
deepening of spiritual life could be held. Why should not
China have its Keswick and its Northfield ? ' The Chinese
helpers would appreciate such provision. The Bible Institute
department might also come under the patronage of the As¬
sociation. It embraces, I suppose, both the evangelistic and
pastoral elements.
The scope of the Association includes all those points, and
others which I have only time to mention, for example, the
problems of evangelizing the different grades of society, the
nou-christian schools, the army and navy, the country with its
44
The Chinese Recorder
[January
innumerable villages, the vast number of boatmen at the
central marts of the Empire, these and others will come under
the particular attention of the Association.
One need hardly mention the substantial benefits which
will accrue from the work of the Association. It will prove the
means of leading many precious souls to decision for Christ. It
will deepen and strengthen the spiritual life of Church
members. It will brighten and inspire the outlook and
ambition of God’s servants. It will cement the bonds of
interdenominational friendship. It will certainly hasten the
establishment of the Kingdom.
In conclusion. It may be argued that the existing societies
are sufficient for these things. True, but the Association
is not an organisation outside of the Church. It is meant to be
a body of specialists, who will give themselves wholly to the
cure of souls. The members of the Association will represent
all the societies and I feel sure the direct and indirect advan¬
tages to be gained will more than compensate the societies for
any time given by their workers to the advancement of Associa¬
tion principles.
I sympathize with those who have a fear of being burden¬
ed with complex machinery. The Association will be simple
in its aim and operation. It will try to obtain the max¬
imum of work with the minimum of organisation. For my
part I welcome it without reservation. To me it is an intima¬
tion of brighter days and richer harvests. If by its establish¬
ment the Cross of Christ may make greater conquests, then we
will bless the day when the leaders of this movement were led
to venture. We are told that when William Penn first settled
in the forests of Pennsylvania he said to himself “ this is a
holy experiment.” Since then the progress of the American
people and the leading position they hold among the nations of
the earth have more than justified that experiment. As by
faith we unfold the possibilities of the future may we not see
iu the experiment of the Association a like success.
Take up then, my friends, the object of the Association, and
make it your ideal. Let us seek in the most rapid, most
intelligent and most powerful way to send forth Gospel light
and truth. Let us determine that the heralds of salvation
shall carry the glad tidings to the regions beyond. Let us
t9lO] The Future of the Mission School in China 45
press in upon the citadels of evil until they surrender before
the forces of light and liberty, and let us never rest until we
ring in the Christ who is to be, until He occupies His rightful
place in the heart of this nation.
The Future of the Mission School in China
BY REV. A. J. BOWEN.
T O attempt to forecast the future of mission schools in
China at this time of tremendous changes and unfore¬
seen developments in education, requires considerable
courage and a great deal of presumption. So that any con¬
clusions arrived at must of necessity be somewhat of the nature
of broad generalizations. However, the subject is one of very
great importance to the Church at large, and of more than
passing interest to those closely associated with educational
problems.
If the topic under discussion were “The Need of Mission
Schools,” meaning by Mission Schools, Christian Schools, we
could with positive assurance affirm that there will always be
a need for the Christian school, and a permanent need gives
a permanent future. No religion has flourished very long,
or has been of wide influence or power, without its schools.
We speak of the Confucian school in China and it is the
only place where the Confucian religion is taught; the
schools of Assyria, Babylonia, and Egypt were ecclesiastical
and they kept the altar-fires of their religious burniug.
The Jewish religion flourished in the Rabbinical schools.
The early Christians had their system of education, and in
Jerusalem, in Antioch, in Corinth, Ephesus and Alexandria
great schools flourished, and these schools were the very
fountain heads of the Church. During the dark ages it
was the monastic school that kept alive the flickering flame
of learning. Someone has said that, after the Reforma¬
tion, Protestantism became the mother of popular education.
Germany obtained her common schools from Martin Luther,
Scotland her love of learning from John Knox. When William
of Orange triumphed over Spain, he asked the Netherlands
which they preferred, relief from taxation, or the founding of a
46
The Chinese Recorder
[January
University. They chose the school, and it was in that school
that Arminius taught. The earliest colleges of America were
founded and maintained by the Christian church. Harvard,
Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth, and scores, even
hundreds of others, could be named. At the present time we
are told that nearly two-thirds of the colleges and universities
of America are under denominational control. The only college
founded there before the 18th century that was not the creation
of the Church or of individual ministers, was the University
of Pennsylvania, but even in this school the Bible was named
as a text book, the founder, Benjamin Franklin, saying:
“ When human science has done its utmost.yet still we
must recommend the students to the Scriptures of God, in order
to complete their wisdom, to regulate their conduct through
life, and to guide them to happiness forever.” The very idea of
education for the common people—for everybody—is a Christian
idea, and distinctly so. In Japan and China, until the Christ¬
ian Missions came, education was for the few favoured classes.
So, by our very calling, we witness to the conviction that
Christianity is essential to the best and highest development of
the Chinese nation, we are sure that the Christian School is a
fundamentally necessary part of Christianity in China, and as
long as it lasts the Christian School will have a future. As the
founder of Princeton said: “Without education, piety would
cease to become intelligent, and without piety, the desire for
education would be lessened.”
But our inquiry concerns itself more with the future, not
the need or importance of the Mission School. The framers of
the question desired, no doubt, to have the discussion limited
to the Mission School, and not to the Christian School in China.
Some day we shall see the Mission School, supported as it now
is largely by foreign funds, controlled and managed by Mission¬
aries, foreign in its ideas and ideals and in every other way,
gradually merge into the Christian School, with all that is good
and true and essential and permanent of the Mission School
thoroughly absorbed and assimilated : when its support aud
management shall be Chinese, when it shall be a vital part of
the Christian Church of China, and when its Western teachers
shall be called and not sent. Like the prophets of old, we shall
die in this faith, not having seen the fulfilment of the promises,
1910]
The Future of the Mission School in China
47
but having seen them and greeted them from afar, confessing
that we are but strangers and pilgrims in this land.
Let ns look for a moment at the development of Church
institutions and of State institutions in America, for a sugges¬
tive thought that may indicate something of what the mission
school in China may expect, as it comes more and more into a
real competition with the Government school. One of the
remarkable things in American education in recent years has
been the rapid development of State-supported schools. There
are now 39 State Universities, which have since their organi¬
zation received government aid to the extent of $80,000,000.
The Laud Grant Colleges number 26. The High Schools have
enormously increased, both in numbers and efficiency, and are
closely articulated with the State Universities. The reasons
for this increase in government education do not here concern
us. During this period of the development of government insti¬
tutions, very few new Church schools have been started, but many
have been closed or forced into a precarious existence. Many
have very few students, inadequate equipment and support, and
from an educational point of view might well be closed. At the
same time a much less number have been stimulated into a vigor¬
ous growth, and profited in almost every way by the emulation
afforded by the well-equipped and efficient State institution.
Another good effect has been the union or affiliation of several
schools, usually of the same denomination, in contiguous
territory. This movement towards union has not, probably,
gone so far as it will yet go. I think we shall be within the
truth when we say that the number of Church schools started
was too large, altogether out of proportion to the actual dem¬
ands, though the demand then was much greater than has
existed since the development of the State Universities and
High Schools. Now that the demand for more schools has
been largely met by the State, the Church is more concerned
in developing existing schools than in organizing new ones.
And it should be borne in mind that these denominational or
Church schools that flourish do not exist to glorify any part¬
icular Church, or to further the peculiar ideas of that Church,
but rather to serve all men in all that is highest and best, and
to glorify God in the earth. There now exist in every state
or group of adjoining states at least from four to six good
48 The Chinese Recorder [January
Church schools, strong educationally, with from 500 to 2000 or
more students, and which have many excellent reasons for
their usefulness and desirability.
If we apply these facts to the situation in China, and
assume that education will in the near future be in a
reasonable measure effectively compulsory, as it is at home
and in Japan, what do we find ? Take the area and popur
lation of seven representative states and of seven provinces.
California, Colorado, Iowa, Ohio, Virginia, New York and
Texas have a combined area of about 716,000 square miles,
and a population of 20,000.000. Fukien, Kiangsu, Shansi,
Chihli,.Shantung, Szechuen, and Kuaugtung have an area of
557,000 square miles and a, population of 218,000,000. The
seven states with a population of 20.^000,000 have at least
twenty worthy church or denominational schools ; the seven
provinces, with a population of over 200,000,000 have barely
twenty good mission schools of higher grade. That is, 20 Church
schools at home supply the demand of 20,000,000 people,
while here, 20 mission schools are trying to serve 200,000,000
people. The need in both cases is for Christian education.. The
twenty million in America with all their heritage of Christian
homes and surroundings need Christian education: the 200
million in China with none of that heritage, need it infinitely
more. So if we may leave out of consideration a good many
other factors, may we not conclude from the apparent facts re¬
garding the Government and Church schools in America that
the Mission schools must in the future be largely increased in
numbers ? And are we justified in that comfortable feeling of
satisfaction and sufficiency when all the churches of a district or
of a province even unite in supporting one institution ? Are we
to regard this as the highest good that the Church can do, educa¬
tionally—that this is the measure of our duty? We are all per¬
fectly aw r are that when the vast resources of the Church are so
given that only a few Mission schools can be supported, the
Church is shirking its duty. By all means let us have union
and co-operation, let us have one good Christian school adequate¬
ly supported by all the Missions of one center, but let those same
missions have well-equipped schools in the other large cities of
that region. If any Church thinks that by union it may send
out less men and spend less money, then the future of that' Mis-
1910 ] The Future of the Mission School in China 49
sion’s schools is not very promising. One university, supported
by the Christian churches of England or America, is not particu¬
larly inspiring for the future of Christianity, either for China or
for the home lands. And furthermore, the glory of the mission
school is not to be sought in its developing into one or a few
great universities. Its broadest, highest good is not to be fulfill¬
ed in the few high grade schools. Our mission school ideal is
that it shall be a place not only for sound and broad learning,
but also of practical religion, and that for the many, not for the
few. We are to teach the rich and poor alike, to give a first
class education at a reasonable cost, if the Chinese Christians are
to obtain it. The late Dr. Harper said that there was a “ geo¬
graphical law of higher education.” It is that 90 per cent of
those who attend college select an institution within 100 miles
of home. A compiler of statistics has shown that the patronage
of our most famous institutions is distinctly local; 85 per cent of
Columbia’s students come from within fifty miles of New York;
52 per cent of Harvard’s students come from within a radius
of fifty miles. The same will be more true of China, with
unfavourable means of communication. Therefore, the mission
colleges of China, as a rule, should be small, numerous, widely
distributed, with a few well-manned, well-equipped departments,
accessible to those who are to be served, both in cost and loca¬
tion. In connection with a good number of these will be the
university, and the professional and high grade technical school.
If we look at education in Japan, we see, as it seems to me,
two facts which bear upon our topic. The first is that, so far,
the higher grade mission schools have not been seriously affected
by the government schools, with their thorough system and
great numbers. A writer in the “Christian Movement of Japan,”
1908, says ; “ As one goes upward in the grade of schools one
notices the growing importance of the private and miscellaneous
schools, in point of numbers, at least”. As the mission school
is classified among the miscellaneous schools, it appears that
Japan, even, has room for more high-grade Mission schools.
Bishop Harris, writing March 21st, says : “ The present status
of mission schools in Japan is entirely satisfactory. They are
perfectly free so far as religious teaching is concerned. Also the
need of schools of higher grade is very great. The government
cannot begin to take care of her students above the grammar
50
The Chinese Recorder
[January
grade. Our schools are crowded and very prosperous, and almost
self-supporting. We cull the best from the many who seek ad¬
mission.” It seems, therefore, that the demand for the mission
school is still as great as ever in Japan, possibly greater. The
second fact in the educational situation there that seems signifi¬
cant to me, is that, apparently, the lower grade work is relegated
to the government, as it is in America, and the missions devote
themselves largely to college and high grade work. In the
home lands that it is thus is not so important, for our public
schools as a rule have good moral surroundings, and a large per¬
centage of the pupils have the advantage of Christian homes,
Sunday Schools, and a Christian environment. In China the
tendency for the Church to neglect the lower grade work will
undoubtedly be in the same direction, in fact, I think, has already
begun. If this be true, I think it is to be deplored, and if allowed
will very greatly affect the future usefulness of the mission
school in China. The Church should seriously study this pro¬
blem and deliberately plan to take permanently into its scope of
operations excellent primary and secondary schools, as well as
the college and university. If the Church confines herself large¬
ly to the high grade work, and practically leaves the other to the
State, we shall lose one of our best opportunities for serving the
greater number of the Chinese people. The Church should, if
possible, see to it that her young members, during their most
impressionable age, are educated under Christian influences, and
we believe that large numbers of the Chinese who are not Chris¬
tians would desire that their sons be in the clean, moral surround¬
ings of the mission school. Here is a field that the Church can
ill afford to neglect, and one that will yield large returns in real
good for China. This is a day of much talk about big universi¬
ties, but I presume to say that the best object of the mission
school will be gained by at least the same or even greater atten¬
tion being given to the establishing and developing of good
lower grade schools. If the Church yields to the inherent ten¬
dency of our system to develop the high and allow the lower
education to go to the State, its future in China will not be what
it should be. Those who go to the college and the university
even in the home land are relatively few as compared with those
who go to the grammar and high school. In this land of pover¬
ty it will be even more so. While it is undoubtedly true that
1910 ] The Future of the Mission School in China 51
the college and the university exercise an influence altogether
out of proportion to the numbers who attend, still I am not at
all sure but that the lower grade schools will count more for
Christianity in China, if properly and sufficiently developed.
The Church must have first-class colleges and universities.
They will dignify the Church, will furnish many of the great
leaders, and will fulfil a very important part of Christian edu¬
cation. But it will be only a part, not the whole, and not,
perhaps, the most important part, and I am inclined to think,
if one must be especially emphasized, it should be the lower
grade work, for we must remember that the mission school is
doing foundation work.
The future of the mission school will also depend largely
on its ability to develop in accord with Chinese ideals and the
oriental traits of character. To thus develop is not a favor for
the mission school to grant, but is an inalienable right of the
Chinese Church to demand. One of the most serious tasks of
the Westerner is to understand and to appreciate the genius and
spirit of China. A more difficult task is to so conduct himself
and his work as to further all that is good in them and their
system, and not to superimpose his own ideas and ideals, and
ways, in such a manner that the finished product, the Christian,
the educated man, is a new kind of creatnre, not well adapted to
the environment in which he must by force of circumstances
live and work. We come to this land with the few ideas we
have, the result of our Western environment and training and
philosophies and religion. They are very good for us. Our
ways of getting them are very good. We are apt to think there¬
fore that they are very good for the Chinese, and we proceed to
inject them in larger or smaller doses. Because our confiding
friends trust us and submit to it, we are encouraged and increase
the dose. So the Western University with its Western courses
and books is next in order. Perhaps this is what should happen,
perhaps it is inevitable that it should be otherwise, but we should
be building a structure that will harmonize with what the
Chhiese, Christian Chinese, will ultimately have. We hope that
what we are doing will fit in with and shape and help the future
Christian school and church. We need not fear that the Chinese
will fail to assimilate, in their own way, and change all we have
to give. History abundantly attests their ability in this line.
52 The Chinese Recorder [January
What should engage our serious thought is that they assimilate
the permanent and essential, and that they change what we
give into such as will result in the highest good, such a change
as will be a step upward, and not only for China, but also
in a reflex way for us and all mankind.
A mission school must be judged by what it does, not by its
buildings, or numbers, or even its ideals. When we think of the
Mission school from this point of view, comparing what we are
doing with what the government school is doing, we are inclined
to think that the future is very bright. The mission school un¬
doubtedly now gives the best instruction and a more well-rounded
general education. The mission educator has more of the idea
of the generic meaning of the word education, “bringing out”
the latent powers of his pupil rather than the process of pouring
something into an empty head, which seems to so often be the
chief aim of the Chinese teacher. So on the whole the mission
trained man is a better educated man than his fellow student
from the government school. As long as the mission school
can do this, can turn out better trained men, men of sterling
worth and of well disciplined minds, its future is bright. But
are we not inclined to be a little too complacent in our compar¬
ison, and are we wise in comparing that which is the outcome
of many years of experience and testing with the totally new
problem and work the Chinese people have so heroically un¬
dertaken? I hardly think we adequately appreciate what the
Chinese government has done and is attempting to do. To have
given up so gracefully the old with all its history and precious
associations ; to have created a desire and enthusiasm for the
new education; to have launched out on the hitherto unthought
of task of giving an education to all classes—these are things
that should arouse our highest admiration.
And yet we may well question whether the Government
has not given up too thoroughly their own peculiar education,
has not gone too far in too short a time. There is a deplorable
tendency on the part of the New China, to neglect Chinese
learning and Chinese philosophy and so many of the excellent
things of the old, and it will take years to develop a learning
that for them has the educative and cultural value of the old
Confucian school. We are beginning to see a generation
springing up without manners and with smatterings of know-
19 i0] The Future of the Mission School in China 53
ledge. The old Confucian scholar was a gentleman, in many
of those finer qualities that we all admire. Let the mission
school be very thoughtful in seeking to supply those studies
that tend to produce genuine culture, and in leading back, if
need be, the Chinese to their own rich and varied learning.
Government education is in the experimental stage, and there
are many defects and shortcomings, and we should not get the
satisfaction I fear we often do obtain in comparing our schools
with those just starting. Let us rather compare our work with
the home standard. The mission school in China, up to the
present, owes more of its efficiency and superiority to its inherent
nature than perhaps we realize, so that in spite of poor teaching,
unwise management, changing policies, and many other defects
that have appeared to more or less extent in all mission schools,
they have been relatively successful as compared with other
schools in China. With the more modern civilization rapidly
spreading, our leadership will depend to a less extent on the
simply natural and inherent superiority of our Christian educa¬
tion, and depend more and more on good teaching, wise, far-
seeing policies, and combination of resources. The mission
school’s future depends upon the better work it can do, better
work educationally. In point of material equipment we cannot
hope to compare long with the Government institutions. China
has millions of dollars she will gladly spend for education—for
good plants, for the best apparatus, for the best available teach¬
ers : we must excel in the finished product rather than iti the
material equipment of our institutions.
But the true mission school is to find its greatest future in
the most serious lack of the government schools of China, and in
this it is not fundamentally different from the denominational
or Church school of the home land as compared with government
institutions. The government school is weakest on its moral
and religious side. This is true in China and also in America.
Some of our great State University presidents are realizing that
we cannot have a complete and effective education without moral
training. President Eliot has said “Nobody knows how to
teach morality effectively without religion The whole system
of State education is secular and therefore fails to furnish
adequate moral leadership for the nation. “ With religion as an
experiment the State lias nothing to do.” President Nicholas
54
The Chinese Recorder
[January
Murray Butler, of Columbia, says that there has come a divorce
between education and religion to education’s distinct loss.
The highest development of manhood or womanhood cannot be
obtained without the religious element. In Nanking, out of
ninety government and private Chinese school courses of study
I have examined, every one without exception, regardless of
grade or kind of school, has for its first item on the program
“ Practical Ethics.” That is, the authorities realize the
importance of morality, religion if you please, as a part of educa¬
tion. This is to us of great promise. A writer in the “Christian
Movement of Japan,” 1908, says: “Keen observers of educational
problems (in Japan) lament the lack of moral stamina in so
many of those who stand as instructors of the young.” Mr.
Soyeda said that the great aim of education in England was to
produce men of character, but he could not discern that any
such object was pursued by educators in Japan. However it
may be in Christian lauds, and there it seems that the State
cannot effectively teach religion, we know that the govern¬
ment of China cannot teach Christianity or any other religion
that has a controlling power over conduct and life.
The mission schools are therefore not simply duplicating
facilities that the state has already provided, for the government
has not and cannot assume the entire burden of complete
education, the education not only of the mind but of the heart.
We are to do a distinct work, and if we fail in it we fail in the
chief thing for which we exist. If the mission school stands
for anything, it stands for producing men of character, men with
the highest ideals of duty and service and life—the ideals of Jesus
Christ—and with its Christian teachers, Chinese and foreign, its
Christian students more and more as the Church grows, and its
high moral tone and environment, we do not fear competition
in this matter from the Government schools, we rather weep
for their very serious disability at this vital point.
Again, the best future of the mission school will be
advanced when our Christian Chinese educators are given more
responsibility and authority in the management of our schools:
when their advice and suggestions are more sought and heeded;
when they can be placed first and we can take a secondary place.
It is one of the weaknesses of not only the school but of the
church in general, that, up to the present, so little real authority
1910]
The Future of the Mission School in China
55
and responsibility has been given to those in whose behalf we
labour. Hitherto this has largely been unavoidable, but that
unfortunate condition is rapidly passing away, and a willing and
glad surrender of many of our privileges and prerogatives that
may justly be claimed as our rights, will produce ultimately
only good. I think that during the past few years it has become
a demonstrated fact that where responsibility has been placed
upon our Christian fellow-workers, they have as a rule
measured up to it, even exceeding our expectations, and
often do better than we could possibly have done. From such a
wise surrender of rights, a more effective leadership will
result, and a better and more speedy government recognition
will result. I am in most hearty accord with the opinions
expressed so forcibly by Drs. Stuart, Anderson and Pott
at the recent Educational Association meeting, regarding
Government recognition of mission schools, vis., that we should
not press the Government for it ; that we are here simply to
serve, not to seek or ask favours; that we have remarkably
liberal treatment by the educational authorities; and that the
appreciation of our work and of the men we turn out, and the
good we are doing, is the real recognition we wish. My point
here is that in the future the mission school will get more and
better of this kind of recognition and more quickly receive
official recognition, if the Chinese are pushed forward into places
of responsibility and trust just as rapidly as, and possibly a little
more rapidly than, many think wise.
Again, the distressing social and industrial conditions of
China place a peculiar responsibility on the mission school, and
a responsibility which it has very largely up to the present shirk¬
ed. The very large numbers who toil and suffer for the barest
necessities of life, under conditions and with appliances at least
hundreds of years behind the times, yielding results entirely
inadequate to either the needs, or the time and effort expended,
compel ns to enquire if the future mission school has not to take
up seriously a new line of work, the industrial and technical.
The mission schools hitherto have given an education calculat¬
ed to equip men for those occupations where mental discipline
and training are required. No special training has been under¬
taken in the trades and arts and manufactures. We have all
been distressed not a little by the student who beyond question
56
The Chinese Recorder
[January
should have been learning a useful trade, rather than wasting
his time and ours in studies which, when pursued for. years,
would still leave him unable to use them in earning a living.
We should have been training his hand, not confusing his mind.
Christian education should unquestionably help men to live,
should raise the standard of life by improving conditions, and
for the vast body of toilers Christian education has very little to
offer. Until industrial and economic conditions are vastly
improved I think Christianity will have comparatively little
influence over millions of the Chinese. True, the Gospel is a
Gospel for the poor and down-trodden, but what time or strength
or intelligence has the coolie for anything beyond the few cents
he, with the greatest difficulty, earns? The multitudes, not only
of coolies but of more intelligent and worthy men and women
who live on the verge of starvation, is such as to cause serious
thought regarding the possibilities in the right kindoi Christian
education for them. Even in our home lands there is, I am
afraid, a erowimr dissatisfaction with the education that we are
giving, in that it does not contribute ail adequate share to the
solution of the great social and economic problems and difficult¬
ies that are pressing for solution. The mission school in China
may have, I am profoundly convinced, a glorious future in con¬
tributing to the real relief of actual conditions, and may, through
industrial and technical education, preach the Gospel of Jesus
Christ to the poor and needy as in no other way—the Gospel that
enables men to help themselves, not to rise above their sur¬
roundings, but to so transform those surroundings that a man can
live a man's life, not that of the mere animal. The Church
should not only develop the higher technical and professional
schools, but should undertake to create and develop new trades
and new industries. These would not only improve society, but
would afford new fields for honest, clean, labor that is not
associated with degrading customs and practices which are
incompatible with Christianity. We have often been told by
the poor Chinese that they cannot become Christians, for to do
so would mean that they would be compelled to give up their
business, which is connected with idolatry or some matter of
heathen worship. If the great problems of pauperism, incom¬
petency, crime, political and social corruption are to be solved,
who should make a larger contribution than the Christian
l 9 io] The Future of the Mission School in China 57
Church, through Christian schools suited to those classes that
most easily fall into these evils? Unless we face this question,
frankly and seriously, may we not be liable to the criticism, in
later years, by our Chinese brethren, that we have devoted
ourselves too much to the intellectual and spiritual welfare of
their race, and have neglected their social and material interests ?
The mission school must be a nursery of high-minded, high-
principled, well-taught, well-trained citizens, fitted to fill well
the public offices, or enter well-equipped the professional,
commercial, industrial, and agricultural life. It should have a
part, not only in the nurture of those who are to guide its
destinies and lead its progress, but also in the nurture of those
guided and those led, the toilers- We are here not to prepare
men to die, but to live.
In conclusion, let us summarize by saying that as we believe
that Christianity is to prevail in China,we believe that the mission
school is a vital part of that Christianity, and will be permanent
till it is succeeded by that better institution, the Christian
school. And, moreover, since a religion cannot permanently
flourish without its schools, the mission school has the very
solemn task of so making Christianity the central and living
part of the education we are imparting, that it will be carried
over, naturally and spontaneously, into the coming Christian
school of China, and will not be a separate tiling that is foreign
to the Chinese thought and needs, and therefore may be left out
of their system.
Is it an overstatement to say that the future of Christianity
itself depends on the future of the mission school? We may at
least say that if it is true to its ideals, it must have a tremendous
influence on the future of Christianity among this great people.
We must never lose sight of the fact that the mission school is
Christian, and must be kept Christian through and through,
not only in ideals, but in the lives and example of its teachers,
in positive teaching, in direct influence, in an absolute loyalty
to the Truth as it has been revealed in Jesus Christ our Uord.
It must be a place where every student who enters its halls
is brought face to face with Jesus Christ, and is impelled by
the spirit of the place, and the loving, solicitous care of his
teachers, to make the matter of a personal allegiance to Him a
question of the most careful consideration.
58
The Chinese Recorder
[January
It must stand for the type of Christianity that is virile,
life-controlling, will-compelling: the kind of Christianity that
Paul had, which swallowed up self in Christ and sent him out
to live for others and to win a world to his Master. Let 11s
remember that the missioii school has a function, a distinctive
work above mere learning and mind-training. It must put
conscience-training above mind-training: the Government
schools may minister only to the intellect, we must minister to
the heart as well.
Again, the mission schools must be largely increased in
numbers, and a larger sacrifice in men and money must be made
by the home lands for education in China, in spite of the wisest
co-operation and union looking towards a temporary saving of
resources. Education is not cheap, and especially, Christian
education cannot afford to be cheap: the Chinese do not want a
cheap article; they demand the best, and are eminently worthy
of it, and we must give the best because it is given in the name
of the Church.
And since the great majority cannot pay for the cost of the
best, we must have large endowments, and in some way con¬
sistent with the development of manhood and independence,
provide the best at a relatively low cost.
Again, the mission school must not grow out of the lower
grade work into only the higher, leaving the youth of China,
during their early years of training, in the frightful conditions
and surroundings that are very, very much worse under the new
learning than obtained under the old. The modern government
school in China, of whatsoever grade, with its only partially
understood methods and ideals, is bringing in problems with
which China has nothing effective to deal, until she accept
Christ. Hence the imperative need that we strengthen and
enlarge lower grade education, as well as the high grade.
Again, we must remember that in our mission school, be it
our best grammar school or our university, we are not offering
a perfect model. The best school or university in England or
Germany or America, Christian or State, is in many directions
faulty and imperfect and inadequate for even our own civiliza¬
tion: how much more so for the Chinese civilization. We
should guard against that attitude of mind which,unquestioning,
assumes that we have all the best and only good to offer in our
1910]
The Future of the Mission School in China
59
education, and so our chief task is to supplant the old Chinese
education with our perfect Western product. Such an attitude
means disaster for the future of the mission school in spite of its
supreme asset, Christianity. Hence our duty to constantly seek
to suit and adapt our education to the needs and genius and
possibilities of the Chinese race. The spirit and attitude of our
great Master should possess us: “ Behold, I come not to destroy,
but to fulfil.”
Again, in a large sense our future depends on pure educa¬
tional efficiency. This is a point we can hardly over-emphasize.
We must turn out the best educated men that can be produced
in China. Nothing will excuse us in this respect, for ours are
Christian schools, and therefore our professions are high, and
our deeds must in a high degree measure up to our professions
and ideals. We are far from perfect, and our education is not
perfect, but the demand is on us to give a perfect product in
absolutely so far as is possible.
Again, the mission school is training leaders and teachers ;
and here again we must practice what we preach, and we can do
this effectively only by allowing (and I do not like the word
allow, as though we had a right to do otherwise) the Chinese to
assume leadership in the control and management of our
schools—and all other mission work— as rapidly and as complete¬
ly as possible.
Again, the poor must have the Gospel preached to them ;
and I believe that the School and the Church must enlarge its
conception of its duty to the poor, or at least its way of preaching
that Gospel to them, and that the Church take up, seriously and
in a scientific manner, the problem of industrial and trade
education.
Finally, the supreme future of the mission school, in
common with the Church in general, is to be found in its making
Christianity the religion of China. It must teach religion ; in
no bigoted manner; in no narrow, sectarian spirit; with no
suggestion that it is “ Western”—for it is not; wdth no suspicion
that it is good for the Chinese because it is mine and I am one
of a superior race. It must teach religion, the Christian
religion, not only because we profoundly believe it true and
the Truth, and embodies the most and highest and best of Truth
that mankind has ever had revealed to it by God Himself, but
60
The Chinese Recorder
[January
also because we believe that Christianity, and Christianity alone,
is the power of God unto salvation to every one who be¬
lieves.
Schools and Colleges as a Factor in
Evangelistic Work
BY REV. L. B. RIDGELY.
HE commission of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
entrusted to His Church as He ascended into the
heavens, is expressed for us most fully in the Gospel
according to St. Matthew, (xxviii, 19-20). “ Go ye therefore
and teach all nations.” It is most remarkable that He uses
here not the word kerusso (K^pua-aw) “to preach” or to
“ Proclaim like a herald,” nor the word euangellizomai
(emyy«\t£oju<u), “to spread good news,” to “preach the Gospel,”
but matheteuo (/xa^ijrew), “ to make learners or disciples.” And
the two acts He specifies in that process are baptizing and
teaching. “Go ye and gather the nations,” (the “Gentiles”)
“into my school.” Bring them into the community that bears
the name of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and
in that Community, (that “ Universitas ”), go on ever teaching,
teaching, teaching. “Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you.”
It is true that St. Mark’s Gospel gives a briefer statement
of the commission:—“Go ye into all the world and preach the
Gospel to every creature.” The expression is briefer but not
simpler. It leaves us compelled to ask, “ What is this Gospel
which they are bidden to preach?” It is defined for us by the
Evangelists and by our Lord Himself. The content of it is
expressed in the one phrase in which His preaching is summed
up for us by both St. Matthew and St. Mark. “The Kingdom
of God is at hand.” This, He says, is the Gospel, and He calls
on men to repent and believe it. (St. Mark, i, 15).
To go forth as heralds, carrying the news of this fact; to
bring the knowledge and power of it home to every individual
soul, that was the duty laid upon the Apostles. And it was a
duty which, in the very nature of things, could not be accom¬
plished by merely standing in the highways and crying aloud
the fact. To all the nations (the Gentiles rather than the Jew’s
19 10] Schools and Colleges as a Factor in Evangelistic Work 61
are indicated by the Greek word) they were to bring this
message. But to men who had not had an education of
centuries, like that of the Jews, in the mysteries of religion, it
would be necessary to explain the very meaning of the words.
As a herald who came to a village of utterly unlettered men
would have to stop and explain word by word the meaning of
the announcement he came to proclaim, so would these heralds
of the Kingdom of Christ have to sit down patiently and teach
the ignorant the meaning of their words.
The Church, then, from the beginning, by the very
ordinance of Christ, is a teaching body,—an Ecclesia Docens.
The Apostles recognized this. It is true we find the Christians,
in the Acts, as they traveled about “talking the Word,” (Acts
xi, 19, lalountes ton logon , AoAowres rliv XSyov) ; or going every¬
where “ telling the good news of the Word,” Euangellizomenoi
(evayytXi&inevoi,. Acts viii, 4.) It is true that this more indefinite
word, “ tvayyeXi&nat ' 1 is often used, but more generally the
definite work of the ministry is spoken of under that more
definite word kerusso Ktjpuavu —to do the work of a herald. St.
Paul, writing to St. Timothy, once and again sums up his office
in the three terms, “to be a herald, and an Apostle, and a
Teacher.” (I Tim. ii, 7. II Tim. i, 11). It is, in fact, most
illuminating to see how often in the Gospels and through
the Acts and the Epistles, the two words preaching and teaching
are conjoined and how often used separately. How often our
Lord is spoken of as a Teacher, and as teaching, and how the
Apostles gave themselves to teaching, and how the teaching
office is honored as a part of the gift of the ascended Christ to
His Church/
Teaching, then, by the very terras of the New Testament,
is a factor in the evangelistic work of the Church. How far
does it involve the necessity of establishing schools and colleges?
And how far can these be made factors in accomplishing the
evangelistic teaching mission of the Church?
The history of education shows that Christianity was, by
very force of circumstances, driven to establish schools. The
Gospels and Epistles are themselves sufficient witness that there
was in the earliest days of the Church a habit, if not a system,
*See Mt. xi, x. iv, 23, Mk. ix, 35. i, 21-39. St. L,k. xv, 44. John, vii 14.
Acts v, 42.
62
The Chinese Recorder
[January
of instructing Christians and candidates for baptism in the
facts and the mysteries of the Gospel. Within a century of the
Lord’s Ascension, and within a generation of the death of the
last of the original Apostles, there had grown up schools for this
purpose. And in these schools it became necessary, as we find
it necessary in China, to.give instruction in reading and in the
rudiments of general learning, in order to lead catechumens to
a point where they could understand the meaning of the message
and of the Holy Scriptures.
Through all this earlier time, the children of Jewish Chris¬
tians had learned their letters and been educated, like other
Jewish children, in the synagogue schools; the children of Gentile
Christians in the heathen schools of their own town or neigh-
borhood. But as Christianity became a more evident power,
and the antagonism between it and Judaism and heathenism be¬
came more apparent and bitter, the danger of such an education
to the Christian faith of the children became more evident, and
Christian parents began to send their children to the Church’s
catechetical schools, where already both adults and children,
newly turned from heathenism, were being given the rudiments
of an education, secular as well as religious. By the close of
the second century there had been established at Odessa, by
Protogenes, what has been called “the first Christian Common
School,” in which were taught reading, writing, Scripture, and
the singing of Psalms. It was the beginning of an institution
that has never ceased to be a part of Christianity.
The Christian Schools increased in number and in scope, in
efficiency and in popularity. Side by side with them the Pagan
schools continued, but decaying, till in A. D. 529 the Emperor
Justinian decreed that they should be abolished. It is to be
noted that then, and not till then, was paganism destroyed as a
real influence in the Empire. Paganism held on as long as it
could continue to conduct schools; and Christianity increased
in extent and in efficiency as its own schools increased and were
fostered.
From that day on till Charlemagne’s time, the beginning
of the 9th century, nearly 300 years, the education of the
Western world was in the hands of the Church, and specially of
the clergy and the monks. When, at that time, Charles the
Great on the continent and Alfred the Great in England set to
1910] Schools and Colleges as a Factor in Evangelistic Work 63
work to reform education, they did not take it out of the hands
of the Church. They only arranged so as to make it more
effective in the hands of the Church. Nor did it even begin to
pass out of those hands till long after the Reformation, in the
political upheavals and readjustments of the 17th and 18th
centuries. The great Universities, even though in some
instances they began as groups of scholars and students not
directly under Church control, yet soon became Church
institutions, mid most of them in fact began as parochial, or
cathedral, or monastic schools, and always maintained the
ecclesiastical connection. It has been left for our own age to
develop the idea that secular education for Christians can be
accomplished entirely apart from religious education, and under
secular authority ; and it yet remains to be proved whether,
even in a Christian civilization, that experiment is an entire
success.
Now as a matter of practical import, we must remember
that the evangelistic work of Foreign Missions is being done not
amid a Christian civilization, but in the midst of heathen
surroundings. Education, social life, administration of law,
common moral conceptions, all are dominated by heathen habit,
and heathen practice, and heathen thought. While then, we
may pour the oil of our evangel on the fire on our side of the
walk we must recognize the fact that on the other side stands
heathenism, as Satan stands in the scene in the Interpreter’s
House, in “ Pilgrim’s Progress,” pouring on a copious stream of
water. If we can remove children, Christian or heathen, from
that stream, and set them, for 6 hours a day, or all day, and day
after day, in the midst of the stream of Church life, giving
them there their education in things both earthly and heavenly,
we have, incontestably, assisted the work of evangelization, if
only by removing an obstacle. Here in China, in our own day,
we find a recurrence of those very conditions which made it
necessary for Christians in the earliest ages to open schools.
We find that the children of our own Christians, if they attend
heathen public schools, are held there all day, from dawn to
dark, Sundays aud week-days, and have no opportunity to study
Christian doctrine or to attend Christian worship. Heathenism
is all about them all day, and we cannot reach them with
Christian instruction.
64
The Chinese Recorder
[January
From this point of view, I take it schools and colleges
are a factor in. Evangelization ; negatively, because they coun¬
teract the destructive influences of heathenism; and positively,
because they give the opportunity for the direct evangelization
of the individual child. The child whose parents have but
just cotne from heathenism can indeed, at the best, receive
but a partial enlightenment as to the meaning of the Gospel in his
own home. Even in Christian lands, where the Christian
life of the home is, to say the least, not always perfect, it means
much for the child to be in school where the message of
Christ and the meaning of Christ’s work, are constantly and
definitely before him and the best habits of Christian life
cultured in him and maintained round about him.
But this is not the whole value of schools and colleges as
factors in Evangelization. Under present conditions in China,
it is perfectly possible to get children from heathen homes into
Christian schools, and there to make known to them the good
news we come to preach. The Church in that way may touch
an element which would be reached by no other means, and
touch it in a most valuable and effective way. Here, day after
day the “Old, old, story’’ can be told to pupils, and the
“ Life,’’ which is the “ Light of men,” be brought to bear on
them and lived around about them.
Schools and colleges, then, may be maintained as a part of
the evangelistic work, from two points of view : Either (a) in
order to educate the children of Christians; or (b) In order to
influence the children of heathen. A brief and crude experi¬
ment in statistics, undertaken recently by the writer of this
paper, indicates that the missions in China are about evenly
divided between the two points of view.*
Of twenty-four missions responding to the request for
statistics in the matter all but four have day schools, and all
but one have boarding schools. Of 19 reporting the proportion
between Christians and heathen in the day schools, one reports
“no Christian,” and one “ no heathen” ; while of the rest 8 have
less than one-third Christian, and nine have more than one-
* Note :—Circulars were sent to something less than 100 of the heads and
superintendents of various missions asking various questions. A generous
number of answers were received, for which the writer would express thanks.
The date of sending was late, and answers are not yet all in, but the examina¬
tion is, of course, at best, very imperfect.
1910] Schools and Colleges as a Factor in Evangelistic Work 65
third running up to one-half, three-fourths, and in one case
almost “ all.” (To be exact, six report from one-third to one-
half ; one has seventy per cent.)
The figures would indicate that there is a tendency in the
majority of these missions to make the day schools a means of
gathering in the heathen, in the hope of making them
Christians, while a minority use their day schools rather for
the education of the children of Christians, to guard them
from heathen influence.
In the boarding schools, however, the statistics seem to
run the other way. Of twenty-four missions reporting boarding
schools, four report that all the pupils are Christians, or of
Christian families, and fourteen report more than a half. Five
report less than half, and only one reports no Christian pupils.
This would seem to indicate that a majority of the missions use
their boarding schools as a means for the education of the
children of Christians and a minority as a means of gathering
in the heathen and influencing them. Either of these methods
is, I take it, a work of evangelizatiou. (Our own mission is
with the minority, in both cases.)
As to the actual results of such school work in bringing
heathen pupils into the Church, the question was asked,—
“How many pupils who enter as heathen are baptized before
leaving?” In the case of day schools, one mission answered,
“ Few.” Twelve report from one to twenty-five per cent. Three
from 25 to 50 per cent. One reports “a large number”,
another “a good many.” One says “Pupils leave early”,
Three report, “ We cannot say
In the case of boarding schools, six report that “ few or
none” of the pupils are baptized before leaving. Seven report
from one to 25 per cent. Three from 25 to 50 per cent. Five
over 50 per cent (all the way up to 90 per cent, in one case).
One of those that reports “ Most do not enter the Church ”
adds, however, “ The boys who have been through our schools
can be trusted much more than those who have not.”
It is to be noted that in these returns some missions state
that they are just beginning educational work, or that it is too
young to allow inferences or to give statistics as yet. The very
fact that more missions are opening educational work is, in
itself, instructive.
66
The Chinese Recorder
[January
One reports that almost all who finish the course become
Christians and are baptized before leaving. Another, which
maintains its boarding schools mainly for Christian students,
reports of the few schools that do admit non-Christian pupils,
that “ they are undoubtedly profitable in bringing scholars to
Christ.”
It is probably the experience of all, as it has been of some
of us at Boone University, in Wuchang, where about one third
of the students are Christian, and where we aim definitely to
influence the heathen, that besides those who are actually
baptized there are many others who would be baptized if the
parents or guardians would consent. (Without such consent
we never baptize minors). More than this, that there are
many who really become Christians in heart and mind, though
for differing reasons they cannot bring themselves openly to
confess Christ in baptism. And yet more, we are convinced
that few if any who enter the schools as heathen and finish the
course leave it without experiencing a profound change in their
convictions as to the meaning and value of religion. They no
longer look on it with the contempt of the Confucianist,
because they have seen that there is at least one religion which
is not a superstition, but means power, light and life. To have
such an element as this scattered abroad in China is surely a
help, a factor in the evangelization of the people.
There remains, however, one yet more important point to
be noticed. Schools and colleges may serve as a source of
supply which shall yield the Church a body of Chinese clergy,
catechists, evangelists, physicians and teachers. The evan¬
gelization of China, or of any country, is not a momentary
event. It is a process of generations. The establishment and
the realization of an ever-enduring kingdom, a corporate union
with a living head—this was the fundamental message of the
Gospel. Even if it were possible to expect that, generation
by generation, an increasing host of missionaries would come
from foreign lands to preach here in China, and that so there
should come to be a preaching station in every town and
village; yet it can hardly be said that the ideal of the Gospel
had then been accomplished. Is it, indeed, possible that the
preaching of the Gospel can ever be thoroughly done in China
till it is done by the Chinese themselves? We may lead them
1910] Schools and Colleges as a Factor in Evangelistic Work 6 ?
to it, and fit them for it. We cannot do it for them. The
Gospel will hardly reach the hearts of the majority of the Chinese
till it comes from Chinese hearts, through Chinese minds, on
Chinese lips, in Chinese ways. It is the converted generation,
rather than the converting generation, that will really evange¬
lize China.
As the plant or animal is not mature till it develops the
reproductive faculty, so is a Christian Church in any nation not
mature till it is producing its own ministry, its own preachers,
its own workers, and making its own converts.
Now where are these to come from ? Are we simply to
preach and to pray and to wait until the Spirit of God Himself
moves some here and there among our converts, according to
His will, to offer themselves as preachers and clergy? God
forbid that any man should cast any scorn on these methods.
We must preach. We must pray. We must wait. But as we
pray for daily bread and trust God for it, and wait on Him for
it, yet also plow and sow, reap and grind and bake, so surely
we should also use rational methods to increase the supply of
native clergy and workers in any land.
The experiment in statistics mentioned above was, as has
been indicated, too crude and partial to be decisive; yet it
yields some interesting thoughts.
Of 23 missions reporting, 12 answered that they had no
Chinese clergy at all. It might seem at first as if this meant
that schools are not a success as a means of raising up a
Christian clergy, since most missions have schools and most
have native clergy. But there are too many other elements
involved to allow this conclusion. It would be necessary to
inquire, for example, how long schools have been maintained
in each mission, on what principle, whether that of educating
Christians or that of converting heathen, and many other
things. The whole history of the mission, doctrine, polity,
and even personalities are involved, and the problem is too
complicated to enter upon here. We shall have to be content
with conclusions less sharply cut than this.
Of 11 missions reporting Chinese clergy, three reported
that all had been drawn from their own or other Church
schools; four that from 45 per cent, to 100 per cent, had been so
drawn, and only four that none had been so drawn. So far as
68
The Chinese Recorder
[January
these statistics go, they would indicate that the Church school
is the principle source from which we may expect clergy.
It must be added to this, a most important addition, that
of five missions reporting candidates for the ministry, two
reported all to be in or from Church schools, one reported four
out of five, one reported one out of two. Another reported one
such, but did not say how many others were in view not from
such schools.*
So far as these few data go, they support what has been
concluded in the study of the statistics as to clergy,—that the
schools and colleges are the principal source of supply. If this
be so, surely it is of vital importance to retain them, if for no
other reason, yet as in this sense a factor, and a primary factor,
in the evangelistic work which is yet to be.
The statistics given as to catechists and lay-readers or
preachers are more difficult to deal with—six missions out of
24 reporting only numbers, not percentages. Two report each
two catechists from the schools, two report each three, and one
reports six. One reports ten. None of these, however, have
stated how many others are employed. One reports that all
catechists are from its own schools, and six that none are so
drawn. Five report more than half, and four less than half.
Perhaps the fact is that, as is natural, catechists are more fre¬
quently drawn from adult converts, brought up in heathenism,
and given special training after their baptism. Such men do
indeed meet a present need, but as the nation becomes more
generally Christian and the Church older there would be fewer,
it seems likely, of this sort, and more drawn from schools, men
who have had a primary Christian education.
A few' missions report on lay preachers, as distinct from
catechists. All seem to indicate that men educated in Chris¬
tian schools may be looked to as willing to work in this way.
Four missions report each a lay preacher of this kind, one “a
few,” one “ many,” and one reports that they get “more lay
preachers than catechists” through this channel. Specially
interesting is one report which says,—“I am thankful to write
* Note Owing to the hurried way in which the experiment in statistics
was made, no question was asked on this point in the circular. Statistics on
the subject would be most illuminating. The writer specially thanks those
who added this detail in their answers.
1910] Schools and Colleges as a Factor in Evangelistic Work 69
that the younger men in our churches.... trained in our schools,
turn their thoughts to the service of the church in lay preach¬
ing,” and adds that they have from six to ten such, besides
occasional preachers. In Boone University, Wuchang, a com¬
pany of a dozen or more students go out periodically for preach¬
ing at the street chapels of the mission; and many instances
might be quoted of graduates who have proved efficient lay
helpers in stations far away and near at hand, newly opened
and old established.*
Iu all this calculation, however, and specially in re¬
gard to the question of clergy, there is one consideration
much more important than that of numbers, namely, quality.
In the China of this and the coining generations it will
evidently be imperative not only that we shall have many
clergy, but also that they be men able to meet the needs, the
questions, and the oppositions of men educated in the colleges
and universities, not only of China, but also of America, of
England, and of Europe—men who understand the modern,
Western learning, and are read to a greater or less degree in
science, in philosophy, in history, in religion. Are we to let
this element in Chinese heathenism go? If not, how are we to
care for it? Is there any other way than by maintaining col¬
leges of our own, wliere our own Christian men may be taught
all these things from the Christian point of view, so that we,
from among these, may find men to evangelize China?
Two facts, from two different missions, in two different
provinces of the Empire, seem to add conclusiveness to the
suggestions intimated above.
First :—In Boone University, at Wuchang, nine or ten
years ago there was organized a Missionary Society 'among the
Christian boys. For several years they worked as such, meet¬
ing for prayer and for study of the different mission fields, and
supporting by their contributions a scholarship in a mission
* Note:—Even in the United States of America, with its highly organized
public school system, church boarding schools and day schools have been
found a most valuable and even a necessary factor in working amidst Mormon-
ism, in Utah, and the all-too-irreligious life of the mining camps of the Rocky
Mountains and the Far West. From such have come continually the jay
leaders and helpers in Sunday school and Church work in new settlements
and needy places in these regions.
70 The Chinese Recorder [January
school in India. As years went by, however, the members be¬
came so interested that they every one of them concluded to
offer themselves for Holy Orders. The society transformed it¬
self into a society of men looking forward to the ministry. As
such it lived on. Of the six men graduated from Boone
Divinity School last year, all belonged to this society, and of
the seven who entered a year and a half ago, the most already be¬
longed, and the rest afterward joined. Last spring, the society
embraced, besides these 13, about a half dozen more, in the
lower classes of the college and school, who are looking for¬
ward to the study of theology when their college course is over.
This year the society waked up to a new activity, and has now
opened its membership to all students in the school or college
who are looking forward to help in the work of the Church in
any way, whether as clergy, as physicians, or as teachers.
What the future may bring forth out of this can not now be
said, but there seems good ground here for a great hope.
Second :—It is a fact now perhaps generally known, that
at the Shantung Union College, during the earlier part of this
year, out of 300 students 100 signified their intention of study¬
ing for the ministry. In the Weihsien High School (Point
Breeze Academy), out of 69 students 28 did the same. Of the
two higher classes in the College, all, together with some of
the professors, are about to go, or have gone, to Chingchow to
take the theological and the academic courses together.
Of these students, nearly every one on entering the school
or college, was a Christian, coming from lower Christian
schools. In fact, of the 300 students in the Shantung Union
College, only 15 are not baptized.
It is also a significant fact that up to one year and a half
ago these institutions did not teach any English, and had no
candidates for the ministry.* The change in policy, introducing
English, far from driving the students off to worldly interests
and occupations, as some of us have at times theoretically feared
it might do, seems, on the contrary, to have drawn a host to
the service of Christ.
* Note:—This Statement is made only in regard to the institution as a un¬
ion institution. As such it has been in existence only a few years, and the
writer’s attention has been called to the fact that the Presbyterian Mission
which combined in this union, though teaching no English in former years,
. had gathered many clergy from its schools. This does not seem, however, to
invalidate the remark made below.
1910] China and the Christian 5 Message 71
That schools and colleges are uecessarily, in themselves, a
help to the evangelistic work, is not true. The mere dis¬
semination of secular knowledge does not necessarily make men
Christian nor even necessarily predispose them to Christianity,
and is not, I take it, the Church’s business. The Church is
not an institution for the discovery of truth, but a body for the
preservation and the dissemination of a Truth “ once for all
delivered.” It exists for the purpose of bringing men into
spiritual union with Christ, with God and so with one another.
Unless iu or through our colleges and schools we can work to¬
ward that end, we had better turn educational work over to
other hands. But if by maintaining such institutions we can
hold men in the atmosphere of Christ and preserve them from
a “science falsely so called,” surely it is our duty to maintain
them, and in them to carry education, iu all departments, up
to the highest possible point; that as our students grow in the
knowledge which modern science gives, they may also “grow
in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ,” attaining the “measure of the stature” of His “fulness,”
and “growing up into Him in all things, who is the Head.”
China and the Christian Message
BY REV. ERNEST BOX.
T O understand aright the special message which we as
Christian missionaries have to give the China of to-day,
it is necessary for us to consider first what revelation of
His truth God has already given to the Chinese in the past.
Believing that God has implanted in all men spiritual in¬
stincts, making it possible for them to have knowledge of and
fellowship with Himself, let us see how far along this pathway
the All-father has succeeded in leading out into the light these
children of His—the teeming millions of this ancient land of
China.
Christ has taught us the great truth that God’s infinite love
embraces the whole of His universe. He has also taught us
that He Himself—as the Eternal Word of God, is ‘the Light
that lighteth every man coining into the world’. That He
came to seek and to save the souls of men groping as it were in
a prison house, with no ears as yet to hear Him, and no eye to
72
The Chinese Recorder
[January
see Him, but with the sense of touch only, seeking if haply they
might feel after Him and find Him, as a new born babe feels in-
stinctively for the mother whom as yet it knows not but so much
needs.
Our Old Testament gives us the record of the infinite pa¬
tience with which God prepared a chosen people for the recep¬
tion of the Christ who was to be the Saviour of the world—of
the Chinese as well as of the Jew, the Greek, the Roman
and the Anglo-Saxon. We cannot presume to think that He has
not also been preparing this ancient race for the Christ and the
revelation of God’s love—the Gospel which Christ’s followers
were told to go and preach to all the World. As the Jews had
their patriarchs, lawgivers, poets, priests and prophets, so we
may believe that God has in this land raised up chosen souls,
who have been the pathfinders and teachers of the Chinese
in their soul’s,quest after truth, in their search after God,
and their struggle to attain rightness of life.
Recognising as we do that the Jewish race was preeminently
God's chosen agent through whom the clearest and highest
revelations of the spiritual were given to the w ? orld, we must
see to it that in our jealousy for God’s honour we do not
dishonour Him by failing to recognize that here in this land as
well as in Palestine of old, God has been at work preparing and
fitting a people to receive the revelation He has given the world
in the Christ.
Believing then that no human soul, and no race of men, is
left without some direct communication of light from the Father
of lights, let us ask first how much God’s revelation has been
grasped by the Chinese, and how far they have progressed along
the road that leads out from the dense darkness of spiritual
blindness into the light of clear spiritual vision. We remember
the striking story recorded in Mark's gospel of the blind man
to whom Christ gave the precious gift of sight. We have the
man first with eyes that are sightless, then the Christ anointed
his eyes and asked if he saw ought, and the man replied “I
see men as trees—walking”—he had vision but as yet only
distorted vision. Christ touched his eyes again, and, magic
touch of the Master’ ! Ire looked up and saw every man clearly
—his vision was perfected and he saw the Saviour’s face and the
face of his fellow men, How easy it would have been at the first
1910]
China and the Christian Message
73
stage of this progressive miracle—when there was only distorted
vision for both friend and foe—to have drawn wrong conclu¬
sions, and to have failed to justify the ways of God. Distorted
vision—does not that express the stage China has reached in her
progress out of the dark night of blindness along the way to the
open vision ? Not yet have her eyes been opened to see the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, to see the world of men
and of things as they really are, and yet neither is she utterly
without vision, in ignorance of all spiritual truth, for some rays
have penetrated her darkened orbs, and though still imperfect
and distorted, she has some vision, some light to guide her on
her way.
What spiritual truths then do we find the Chinese already
in possession of as we come to them with the evangel of Christ ?
As we study the people round about us, and come to under¬
stand something of their lives we find in their customs, their
conduct, their government and literature, the expression of
many and varied religious conceptions, some of them mutually
contradictory, but all of them giving us some insight into the
complex world of Chinese religious thought. Dike the explor¬
ers of the ancient buried cities we have to arrange our discoveries
in chronological order, and then we may trace the development
of these religious conceptions as the explorer traces the develop¬
ment of the ancient civilizations. But whilst the archaeological
explorer digs down to find the past, here in China the more an¬
cient as well as the more modern are alike near the surface, like
geological strata, that have been exposed by a volcanic eruption,
taking a horizontal instead of a vertical position. The Chinese
mind of to-day is like a museum of antiquities in which the con¬
tributions of each successive age lie in peace side by side. Still,
though complex, Chinese religious thought has been studied and
can be arranged more or less in chronological sequence, and we
can thus trace its gradual development. The early Chinese
settlers probably brought with them into this land Nature Wor¬
ship in all its forms. Conceiving of themselves as possessing an
animating soul, the seat of their consciousness and volition, they
attributed a similar soul or spirit to all things in Nature, and as
they were able to influence their fellow human beings, and make
them hostile or friendly, so these myriad spirits were supposed
to stand in similar relation to them,
74
The Chinese Recorder
[January
But above all these deified forces of Nature, and deified
spirits, special emphasis seems to have been laid on the worship
of heaven and earth, and the worship of ancestors. We read
that amongst the ancient Accadians, who are generally supposed
to have been, like the Chinese, of the Turanian race, and their
successors the Assyrians and Babylonians, there was a tendency
towards monotheism, first one and then auother of their deities
being raised to a supreme position in their pantheon. But in
the case of the Chinese from their very first introduction to us
in their most ancient literature, we find they had already reach¬
ed out to a personification of Heaven, and to the conception of a
Supreme Ruler who retained that position practically unchal¬
lenged. % Heaven, ^ Ruler, and ^ Supreme Ruler (or as
Dr. Martin translates it “ The Most High”) were already familiar
ideas with them and in constant use to express their religious
thought. It is an important and interesting fact that this
character, ^ Ti, is one of the phonetic or primitive characters
of the Chinese; the most ancient in the language.
Dr. Legge has told us that the “earliest distinct example of
religious worship in China is that related of the Emperor Shun
in the Book of History, where it says :—
He sacrificed specially , but with the ordinary forms, to God
at); sacrificed with reverent purity to the six Honoured
ones ; offered appropriate sacrifices to the hills and rivers, and
extended his worship to the host of spirits.”
Here it seems to me we see how these ancient Chinese, in
obedience to the instincts of their God-given nature, and under
the educative influence of God’s spirit working within them,
grasped dimly but truly the great fact that behind and above
all the mysterious forces of nature, there stands one who is
supreme over all—the Lord of Nature and of man. Unlike the
ancient Jews however, who, with their unique spiritual insight
followed the leadings of God’s spirit and worshipped Jehovah
as the one and only God , the Chinese retained with the worship
of this somewhat vague and shadowy conception of a Supreme
Being “ a corrupt and depraving admixture of the worship of
other beings,” laying emphasis especially on the worship of
ancestors, which, as Dr. Legge has said, is so universally practis¬
ed in China that more than anything else it may be styled the
religion of the Chinese. I wish to lay emphasis upon this fact
t9io]
75
China and the Christian Message
as the point of divergence between the Jewish and the Chinese
races, for it seems to me it is here we must look for the cause
of the arrested development of the religious consciousness of the
Chinese, and the upward growth in spiritual truth of the Jew.
Having grasped the great truth of the unity of nature and the
sovereignty of God the Jew put his trust with whole-hearted
devotion in God, and sought to know and obey His will, and
worshipped Him and Him alone, whilst the Chinese failed to
take the leap of faith , and tried to blend with the worship of God,
the worship also of innumerable subsidiary spirits from the
fear of which they could not shake themselves free.
But we must not forget that though the development of
the spiritual was arrested at this point, not a little had been
gained and had become the possession of the race. They had
discovered and have retained the truth that man is a spiritual
being, that there is a spiritual world outside him to which he is
related, and a Great Spirit supreme over all. They grasped, too,
the stupendous fact that their soul-life did not cease with this
life, but that when the body died they did not. Here truly we
have a foundation on which to build other spiritual truths.
Now let us glance briefly at what Confucianism (the system
that was crystallized and transmitted by Confucius) did with this
raw material, what addition did it make to it, and what has been
its share in preparing the Chinese for God’s full revelation.
That great Christian scholar, Dr. Faber, in speaking of the
relation between Confucianism and Christianity said, “A clear
statement of the points of similarity and agreement, and the
cheerful acknowledgment of their harmonious teaching, makes
mutual understanding between adherents of the two systems
possible and easy.”
Let me quote from Dr. Faber’s list in his article “ Con¬
fucianism” a few of the great truths which Confucianism has
taught the Chinese :—That there is a Divine Providence over
human affairs, and an Invisible world above and around this
material life. That there is a Moral Law binding equally on
men and spirits. The efficacy of prayer to the spiritual powers
is taught, and sacrifices are regarded as necessary to come into
closer contact with the spiritual world. Miracles are believed
in, and the cultivation of the personal moral character is taught
as of the greatest importance, and virtue is valued above riches,
76 The Chinese Recorder [January
honour, and life itself. The Golden Rule too is held up as the
ideal principle of conduct
It may be of interest to give here one or two illustrations
from the ancient Classics—the Books of Poetry and History,
showing how the Chinese gave expression to some of these great
truths:—
“God dwelleth in the great heavens.” (Shu-King).
“ Great is God! Beholding the lower world in majesty, He
surveyed the four quarters. I will examine these things in
harmony with the mind of God. The good in you I will not
dare to conceal , and for the evil in me I will not dare to forgive
myself.” (Shu King).
“The great God has conferred even on the inferior people
a moral sense.”
“God sends down all blessings on the good doer, and on the
evil doer He sends down all miseries.” (Shu King),
“God is with you. Have no doubts in your heart,” (She
King).
The Book of History speaks of two of the early sovereigns
as follows:—
Of the first, “Heaven guided his mind. He made himself
acquainted with Heaven, and. was obedient.”
Of the second, “Luxurious, dark, slothful and dissolute, he
would not for a single day yield to the leading of God.” (Jblff 1 )
“The commentators,” we are told by the late Mr. Huberty
James in his “Chinese Literature,” “have dwelt much on the
words ‘ the leading of God ’ and interpret them as signifying
‘ the constant monitions of conscience by which God endeavours
to keep men in the right path.’ ” Truly the Light thatlighteth
every man coming into the world was leading these ancient
Chinese out from the dense darkness of heathen night—towards
the light of the knowledge of God.
But, alas, there were other influences at work retarding the
growth of the Chinese religious consciousness and the develop¬
ment of their spiritual life. For, under Confucianism, the wor¬
ship of ancestors, polytheism and numberless superstitions
were then and are still today countenanced and taught, and the
tendency then and now has been to restrict the worship of the
supreme God to the Emperor alone. Worship too has become
more a matter of ritual than a spiritual exercise, the ceremonial
1910]
China and the Christian Message
77
part of worship claiming the chief attention, with the con¬
sequent deadening and dwarfing of the spiritual nature.
Confucius himself followed the ancients in recognising a
Supreme Being, as the following passages show, but his out¬
look on life was ethical rather than religious.
“Alas there is no one that knows me. But I do not mur¬
mur against Heaven, nor grumble against men. There is
Heaven ! That knows me.”
“After the death of King Wan was not the cause of truth
lodged here in me ? If Heaven had wished to let this cause of
truth perish, then I, a future mortal, should not have got such
a relation to that cause. While Heaven does not let the cause
of truth perish, what can the people of Kwang do to me?”
“He who offends against Heaven has noue to whom he can
pray.”
In these three passages we have the term Heaven in place of
the Shang-ti, or Supreme Ruler, of the ancient classics, an in¬
dication, as scholars have pointed out, of a weakening of the
monotheistic conception. Let me here give a passage which
Dr. Arthur Smith in his “ Uplift of China ” quotes from Dr.
Legge, “Confucius was un-religious rather than irreligious; yet
by the coldness of his temperament and intellect in this matter,
his influence is unfavourable to the development of true religious
feeling among the Chinese people generally, and he prepared the
way for the speculations of the literati of mediaeval and modern
times which have exposed them to the charge of atheism.” Dr.
Martin too in his “ Religious attitude of the Chinese mind”
writes, “Confucius himself w 7 as strongly inclined to Agnosticism.
In his intimate conversations with his disciples he refuses to
give them any positive statement in regard to the things beyond
the reach of human sight.” Perhaps we can best sum up the
attitude of Confucius as regards the spiritual world, by quoting
his own words, “ To give oneself earnestly to the duties due to
men, and while respecting spiritual beings, to keep aloof from
them, may be called wisdom ”—That is, he placed the chief
emphasis on ethics and not on religion , and this doubtless pre¬
pared the way for the more materialistic conception of the
universe which has prevailed among Chinese scholars since
Chu Hsi and his school gave their interpretation of the classics
in the Sung Dynasty.
78
The Chinese Recorder
[January
It explains, too, how it is that in more recent times in the
Sacred Edict of the Emperor Kang-Hsi 44 no mention is made of
God, and Heaven is nowhere referred to as the source of moral
obligations. Filial piety—the worship of ancestors—is made the
basis of the entire ethical fabric.” (Rees).
But not only does Confucius fail to satisfy the want of
man’s nature as regards his teaching of the hereafter, but his
high system of ethics has behind it no quickening and ennobling
power. 44 It altogether fails,” as Dr. Arthur Smith has said, 41 to
recognise the essential inability of human nature to fulfil these
high behests, and for this inability it has neither explanation
nor remedy.”
Or, as the late Alexander Wylie put it:—“ Alas, the de¬
pravity of the human heart is left out of the account, and man
is consequently utterly unable to effect that self-renovation
which lies at the foundation of the whole system. The system is
a beautifully shaped automaton, but wanting the vital principle.”
Confucius does not seem to have sufficiently taken to heart the
warning that the Emperor Shun gave his successor Yii, 44 The
mind of man is restless, prone to err ; its affinity for the right
way is small.”
Thus, whilst Confucius by his ethical teaching elevated the
ideals of his nation, his system failed to meet its deepest needs
in that it did not face the problem of sin and suffering, nor point
to a way of salvation. It did not bring men into touch with
God, nor throw light on the mystery of the 44 hereafter.”
It was because the system failed at these points that Taoism
and Buddhism, succeeded, in spite of fierce opposition at first, in
winning a place side by side with Confucianism, making with it
the 44 Three religions of China.” Our space will only permit us
briefly to consider the contributions which Taoism and Buddhism
have made to the religious thought and life of the Chinese.
Taoism was an endeavour to escape from the growing strength
and influence of materialism, a 44 protest against man being
crushed under the foot of material nature,” and a protest too
against the 44 frigid ethics of Confucianism.” It came, as some
one has said, with ‘spiritual food for hungry souls.’ 44 The grand
and primary object of the true Taoist is the preservation of
his heaven-implanted nature. Nature requires no effort to
stimulate her growth, and all the Sage has to do is to bring
1910]
China and the Christian Message
79
himself into perfect conformity with her.” (Balfour) Taoism pro¬
per is pantheistic, Tao is the spirit of Nature that is immanent
in all things. “ In its opposition to a mere practical system like
Confucianism, Taoism appealed to those deeper instincts of
humanity to which Buddhism appealed some centuries later. In
practice Confucianism was limited to the finite ... Its last word
is worldly wisdom, not selfishness, but an enlarged prudentialism.
To the Taoist such a system savours of ‘ the rudiments of the
world,’ it belongs to an ephemeral state of being. The Sage
seeks for the Absolute, the Infinite, the Eternal. He seeks to
attain to Tao.” (Giles, Chuang Tzu. Introduction XXIII.)
“ The true Sage takes his refuge in God and learns that
there is no distinction between subject and object.” “ Abstrac¬
tion from self—that is the road that leads to Tao.” “ They were
free for they -were in perfect harmony with creation.” “ Use
the light that is within you to revert to your natural clearness
of sight.” “ The perfect man employs his mind as a mirror. It
grasps nothing ; it refuses nothing. It receives but does not
keep. And thus he can triumph over matter without injury to
himself.” “The flowers and birds do not toil, they simply
live. That is Tao.” “ He who is unconscious of his own
personality, combines in himself the human and the divine.’
“ Take no heed of time nor of right and wrong. But passing
into the realm of the Infinite, take your final rest therein.”
These quotations which Giles gives from Lao Tzii and
Chuang Tzii, will sufficiently indicate the chief teachings of
early Taoism. They are suggestive too of ideas and phraseology
wffiich recent schools of thought have made familiar to us in the
West.
Man is a part of Universal Nature—the God of Taoism.
Allow your nature, i.e., the God in you, full and free development
and you will find yourself in true harmony with your environ¬
ment and thus become free from all ills.
The history of Taoism in China is thus summed up by
Balfour, “ The development of Taoism has been one of hopeless
degeneracy. The lofty asceticism inculcated by Lao Tzii, became
vulgarised into a means by which to achieve the sublimation of
the body. Speculative research into the mysteries of Nature was
degraded into an attempt to transmute the baser metals into
gold ; aspirations after a never ending life beyond the grave
80
The Chinese Recorder
[January
sank into the meaner pursuits of prolonged temporal existence;
and communings with the spiritual intelligences of Nature were
resolved into a base belief in witchcraft, in which the Taoist
priest arrogated to himself the power of exorcism over evil
spirits.”
Thus neither by putting his trust in himself, in human
effort, as taught by the ethics of Confucianism, nor by allowing
Nature to work within, as Taoism taught, could the Chinese
obtain freedom from the bondage of sin and suffering and death.
A third solution was now tried. Buddhism made its way
into China in the first century of the Christian era, and spread
rapidly throughout the Empire during the following three or
four centuries. “ Its success was due to the fact that it came
with a promise of redemption from sin and deliverance from
misery, which was lacking in the more materialistic and worldly
system of Confucianism.” (Dr. Arthur Smith.)
'This deliverance was to be secured either by the slow
process of transmigration to a final release from existence or by
the easier and swifter way of faith in the saving power of the
all-merciful Amitabha.
Buddhism, both in its earlier form, the Hinayana, or little
Vehicle, of Southern Buddhism, and in its later form, the
Mahayana or Greater Vehicle, of Northern Buddhism, has in¬
fluenced Chinese religious thought, but it is the latter which has
especially put its stamp on China. The Rev. George Owen in
his sketch of Buddhism gives us in a concise form a comparison
of the teaching of the two schools. “ Primitive Buddhism knew
no God but law, but in process of time Buddha and his famous
disciples (Bodhisattwas) became themselves gods and are wor¬
shiped in all Buddhist temples. Karma, or the doctrine of
moral retribution, according to which every one reaps what he
has sown, was practically set aside by the invention of a
thousand-handed Goddess of Mercy, (and an Amitabha—the All-
Merciful One) whose power and pity can save all (if there is
Faith on the part of the suppliant). Nirvana, or the extinction
of conscious existence, was the goal towards which Buddha
himself strove, and towards which he bade his disciples aspire;
but this was changed into a Western Paradise of wonderful
beauty and blessedness, whither the souls of the faithful
were borne after death.”
1910] China and the Christian Message 81
The earlier form of Buddhism approximates much more
closely to philosophic Taoism than later Buddhism does. Both
schools of Buddhist teaching differ widely in their outlook and
aims from Confucianism.
“The aim of the Confucianist,” as Dr. Richard has said, “is
to lead a proper life in this world, the Buddhist according to
his creed renounces everything in this world. To him the
present life is empty show, pure vanity. He looks to the future
for all his rewards and hopes.” And what briefly may we
regard as Buddhism’s contribution to the religious thought and
life of China? It has widened its conception of space and time,
introducing the Chinese to an infinitely vaster universe,
peopled with spirits innumerable, and taught them that man is
a link in a great chain of life, and that the history of every
individual soul reaches back into the distant past and will
continue on into the countless ages of futurity. It breathed a
divine pity for suffering humanity and all sentient beings, but
taught what it considered to be a way out of misery into salva¬
tion. It taught of a retribution for the unrepentant evil doers,
and of a Paradise of bliss for those who renounced the lower
self, and of forgiveness and salvation for all who put their faith
in the all-merciful Amitabha and the all-pitiful Goddess of
Mercy, Kwanyin. Faith has been its Watchword, Love its
Weapon, and it at first glowed with a radiant Hope. And yet it
has failed, and hopelessly failed to regenerate, uplift and save
China, and it is itself a decaying religion that has almost
entirely lost its power in the land, and why 7 ? Because, although
in its Northern form it apparently borrowed many of its con¬
ceptions from the purer monotheistic faiths of the West,
Persian, Jewish and Christian, it did not know God, nor tl^e
Christ who came to reveal Him ; and like Confucianism and
Taoism was corrupted and debased by spiritually unscientific
beliefs and practices.
But Confucianism with its lofty ethical ideals, Taoism
with its recognition of the all-pervading unity of nature, and
Buddhism with its gospel of a salvation from sin and misery,
through faith and the renunciation of self, though they have
been insufficient to meet the needs of this great land, and have
left it at this great crisis in its history, sadly lacking in ability
to grapple with and solve the many problems that face it, have
82
The Chinese Recorder
[January
yet all prepared the way for the fuller —the perfect—revelation of
God through Jesus Christ which has been given us to proclaim.
What then is our Message to China in this hour of her need?
What message has the Christ of the Ages—the Eternal Word of
God who has been speaking to this people at sundry times and
in divers manners in time past,—what message has He to give
to this people to-day ?
First of all it seems to me He would bid us, as His ambas¬
sadors, say to this people : —
“Retrace your steps to that point in your history where
your early sages in the Golden Age to which Confucius ever
points you, caught the vision of the Supreme Ruler, bending
down from His throne in the Heavens, to guide His people
along the Heaven-appointed pathway that leads to the perfect
heart, the perfect life and “the perfect state.’”
Say to this people : “ If with all your heart ye truly seek
Him, ye shall surely find Him. For I, the livingWord of God, the
express image of His substance, have come down into the world
to speak to you, not now through sage and prophet, but as the
Incarnate Son of God, and in human form to reveal God to you
that you may see Him face to face, and know Him whom to
know is life eternal. For he that seetli Me hath seen the
Father. I have come to reveal God, the God whom your fathers
saw as it were in a mirror darkly, to reveal Him not as a
majestic king, keeping afar off from His people, to be approach¬
ed only by His representative on earth—the Emperor, the sou
of Heaven; but as the God whose name is Father, and whose
nature is both Holiness and Love, the Father God who in Jesus
the Christ—the Saviour of the World—has come to seek and
to save each of you His children, and to lead you out of the
darkness of error and sin and the loneliness of separation, into
fellowship with Himself, into the light and liberty of the
children of God.”?
“ I appeal to you, through those strong instincts of filial
piety, which I have taught you, to put aside your foolish
pride and empty vaiu-glory, and to listen reverently and
humbly to the message your Heavenly Father—the God whom
your fathers knew, but whom ye have wandered away from
and almost forgotten, has sent you through Me, His Son, the
Living Word of God. For I am come with a message of gra-
19101
China and the Christian Message
83
cious pardon from the great king, your Father God, and I have
sealed the message with my blood. I have come to redeem you
from sin. I have given my life as a ransom for you. I have laid
down my life for you. My life of service and sacrifice and my
death of bitter agony on the Cross express God’s sacrificial love
—a love that makes it possible for Him to save to the uttermost
all who come to Him through me. ‘ For God so loved the
world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever
believeth in—links his life on to Him in a living faith—should
not perish but should have everlasting- life.’ ”
Tell them, too, “I am come to fulfil all your ancient desires
and aspirations for virtue, and for harmony with the great
laws of the universe, and for a life of blessedness hereafter
through the sacrifice, the renunciation of self, and to give you
power to realise these noble ideals. For I am come with the
promise too of new life for you, a new in-filling of the Divine
Fife, a new birth from above, an out-pouring of the Holy Spirit
of God, which will empower you to become new men and
women, to make you Christlike. I am come to give you Life—a
more abundant, fuller, and richer life than even that which
the greatest of your sages, in the far distant past, possessed.
This gift of life I can promise you—it is the greatest miracle of
the ages,—for I will unite you, who reverently take me as your
Master, in living fellowship with Him who is Lord of all the
worlds. Through me as the medium, the Divine Life shall
come down from Heaven above, as the lightning runs down
the kite string, or the dews of heaven are distilled by the
quiet influences of the night air. It will come down to you as
a quickening life and as concentrated force, and man’s heart
will be renewed, and men and women will be born again, so
that all through the laud, in every class of society, in every
department of national life, good men and good women will in¬
crease in numbers, and you shall see the Kingdom of Heaven
established more and*more firmly in the land,—renovated lives,
a renovated society—a renovated nation.” Tell them that I call
them to the service of humanity, to be saviours of men, to be co¬
workers with Heaven in saving a lost world, in lifting men up
out of sin and degradation and the untold misery and suffering
of humankind. Tell them that God’s Fatherhood binds all
men, of every land and race, into one great brotherhood, and
84
The Chinese Recorder
[January
call on them to work for peace and goodwill among all men.
Tell them that I bid them look at the lands where the peoples
have tried to follow me as their Guide and Saviour, and let them
see that, in spite of the tremendous forces working on the side
of evil, there is a slow but steady upward movement of the
Christian nations, and tell them that the best men everywhere
testify that this is due alone to a living faith in the Giving
God—to the influence of God’s Holy Spirit in the life—to
obedience to Myself. Go and preach to this people this message,
and lo I am with you and will bless you my messengers, and
make you a blessing to this million-peopled nation, to which
I have sent you and for which, if they be willing and obedient,
a great and glorious future awaits.
May I close with a word from the Master for ourselves, a
word of heartening and cheer spoken first by one of China’s heroes
3000 years ago to his soldiers on the battle-field just as they
were entering into the conflict: “The Most High God, the
Supreme Ruler, is looking down upon you. Let not your
hearts waver,” and let us reply “ We can do all things through
Christ which strengtheneth us.”
“ And I John saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming
down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for
her husband. And He that sat upon the throne said ‘ Behold
I make all things new. ’ ”
“And He said unto me Write: for these things are true
and faithful.”
An Inevitable Problem, How to meet it.
BY REV. R. F. FITCH.
W E are face to face with an inevitable crisis, already im¬
pending. The manner in which we are to meet that
crisis affects not only the life of the Church from within
but also the leadership of the Church in the future of the Chinese
race. That crisis does not directly concern the individual lives
of Christians, but rather that divergence of thought, of Biblical
interpretation, of the teachings of science, which, if not rightly
dealt with, will not only prevent true harmony and co-operation
in the Church, but hinder it from doing the right kind of con¬
structive work for China.
An Inevitable Problem, How to meet it.
85
1910]
Within the Church there are two classes of leaders, which,
broadly speaking, may be classed as liberals and conservatives.
The beliefs of the individuals in these classes often overlap, so
much so that at times it would be difficult or impossible to draw
any sharp line of difference between the two, but for the sake of
convenience, and for the sake of clearer discussion, we shall try
and take that position in each class which is fairly representa¬
tive of the average of opinion which is held in that class.
If these two classes take the right line of attitude toward each
other, the greatest of the dangers which are possible are averted.
If their attitude toward each other be wrong, as it already has
been in certain cases, the immediate situation is fraught with
the greatest danger to the Chinese Church as a whole.
For example, some of our more conservative friends have
identified the theory of evolution with atheism and scepticism.
Hence, already, some of our Chinese students who have gone
from educational influences such as these to foreign countries,
and have become convinced of evolution in their study of biology,
have been compelled to lose their old form of faith and made
to appear either sceptics or indifferent to Christianity. I have
already seen such men and am assured that their numbers will
rapidly increase unless something is done for them. Again,
some conservative brethren have identified modern views of
Biblical interpretation with scepticism, with the result that
other Chinese students, not only from our Christian colleges, but
from the ranks of the Confucian scholars, have been led away
from Christ into scepticism.
The Chinese market is flooded with translations of Huxley,
Darwin and Spencer, and if the Christian Church do but
denounce these works instead of providing some constructive
substitution in literature, the thinking men of China, serious,
thoughtful men, the real leaders of the race, will be prone to
regard Christianity as an exploded form of religious superstition.
They are teaching that Buddhism after all is more in keeping
with evolution and hence truer than Christianity. Our Chinese
pastors, as they have been trained in the past, are unable to
cope with this literature, as they are unfamiliar with it. Much
of the Christian apologetic literature of today ignores such
literature and hence is much out of date in respect to dealing
with actual existing problems.
86
The Chinese Recorder
[January
Because I do not wish to go into any matters involving a
personal discussion I shall not mention in detail two recent
instances, which evidence a sincere, but not sufficiently intel¬
ligent, antagonism to men who have held modern views of
Biblical interpretation. And though I dislike so to do, I feel
compelled to go into a third instance, in order to accomplish a
certain object, namely, to show clearly to my readers, the
seriousness of the present crisis. Recently some of the Senior
boys in our Hangchow College attended a lecture on evolution
in the city. They returned, reported the matter to one of our
foreign masters, and asked his assistance in formulating and
publishing a reply. To their surprise, he told them that all
three of the foreign masters of Hangchow College held to the
general principles of a theistic evolution. The Chinese pastor
of this college Church had been taught that evolution is one
form of atheism, and occasionally he mentions it in his sermons
and freely denounces it.
While preaching, it is the duty of the minister to come
from the presence of God with a divinely inspired message
upon his lips for men, and hence to avoid such things, yet in
the class-room, in the teaching of the first chapters of Genesis,
it is impossible either for a conservative or a liberal Christian
preacher, to be honest, and assume views which he himself does
not hold.
Hence the necessity, not of a policy of passivity, of silence,
but of something somewhat aggressive, and thoroughly con¬
structive.
Let me first state the case as it appears to me, both for the
conservative and for the liberal, and show the difficulties, serious
difficulties, which belong to either class.
Our conservative co-worker claims that the Chinese are not
a race of philosophers. They are simple, direct, practical.
Philosophical subleties only confuse them, and it is better for
them to receive from us some definite, final authority in religion,
which cannot be questioned and which carries its own evidence
of truth. The Spirit of God is one Spirit, who has inspired
the writers of the Old and New Testament so that they have
given us a religious literature that is consistent throughout,
and in the main to be taken literally. If not taken literally,
then the possibilities of all kinds of license in interpretation
19 to] An Inevitable Problem, How to meet it 87
will come in and we shall find our parallels in the allegorical
schools of Alexandria. Let us have the simple direct statement
of Scripture as the final, authoritative word of God, and use it
as one whole sword of truth. If we question the degree of
inspiration in parts, we are in danger of questioning the whole,
and the Gospel of Christ as the power of God unto salvation is
gone.
Again, not only is the simple literal acceptance of Scripture
more effective with men, we must also realise that the propa¬
gation of our faith depends yet more upon the lives of men.
It is not necessary that we go out of our way to answer this and
that “ism ”, our lives will evidence the Gospel truth even more
than the particular form in which it is stated. The Bible is
inspired in every thought, if not in every word, and it is a
consistent whole in all its inter-related parts. It came direct
from God to men and its self-evidencing power in Jesus and in
those who receive of His Spirit, are sufficient to bring the final
day of victory.
To these remarks the liberal would make the following
reply. It must be admitted that the Chinese are not distinc¬
tively, like the Hindoos, a race of philosophers. Nevertheless
their scholars everywhere are strong men, interested in the
literature that is coming to them from the West, and if their
interest in such things is indicative of their capacity to think on
such things, then their capacity is not to be despised and it will
certainly grow. They may not care for mere philosophic
subtleties, but if the great Christian Church of the West claims
literal acceptance to her sacred writings, and if such writings are
to be challenged by thoughtful scholars of the West, without any
adequate reply, then instead of a philosophical subtlety, we have
a great, simple, vital question, as it affects the hold of our faith
upon the thinking Chinese mind.
As the Chinese scholar reads the Scriptures, he finds
tremendous differences, differences which read literally, must
seem to him to be incompatible with the claim that all parts are
equally inspired. In fact he finds parts which in their spirit
also seem incompatible with other parts. For example, in that
post-exilic Psalm, the writer, in recalling the sufferings of his
race in Babylon, closes with the words.—“O daughter of Baby¬
lon, thou that art to be destroyed ; happy shall he be that
88
The Chinese Recorder
[January
rewardetli thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be that
taketh and daslieth thy little ones against the rock.” Later on
in the Gospel of Luke he finds these words,—“Love your enemies,
do good to them that hate you, bless them that curse you, pray
for them that despitefully use you.” As he goes through the
Scriptures he finds many a passage, which ethically seems to fall
below the teachings of his own sages, and many other passages
which far surpass anything of what he had ever dreamed in the
moral and spiritual life of man, and his relation to a heavenly
Father.
Hence the liberal feels himself forced to conclude that to
the Chinese scholar, any acceptance of the Scriptures wholesale,
without any differentiation in their parts as to historical and
moral value, is often equivalent to driving a man from the
possibility of faith, who might be won to faith in Christ as his
Saviour. The liberal also admits that any loose interpretation
of the Scriptures, or any distinction of values without relation to
facts is dangerous, but he also claims that distinction in values
as they do relate to facts are absolutely necessary. By so doing
the great essentials of redemption through Christ are not hinder¬
ed by an insistence on what is less vital, but rather are they
aided; this being clearly shown in the success which attends the
labors of progressive evangelicals in our home lands.
He would point to three sources for his evidence of facts—
namely to science, archaeology, and recent Biblical investiga¬
tion.
Though Darwinism pure and simple has passed away,
yet there can hardly be found men prominent in the biological
world to day, who do not hold to some general principles of
evolution. The theology of today has been profoundly affected
by it and many of our best writers in theology accept its General
conclusions.
Anthropology and Archaeology show that as early as five
thousand B.C. there was an advanced civilisation in Babylonia,
of which civilisation we have a record of her kings, her wars,
industries, merchants, commerce, cosmology, and social life.
Recent Biblical investigation too shows to what extent the early
Jews were influenced by the early Babylonian and Egyptian
civilisations. Abraham came from Haran, a stopping point on
the great caravan route from Babylon to the Mediterranean.
1910]
An Inevitable Problem, How to meet it.
89
God led the Jewish race as a father leads a child. Incom¬
plete and even imperfect conceptions of Himself were first
necessarv, to suit the immature mind of the Hebrew, and the
Hebrew in his growth also had his misconceptions of God, and
of God’s call to him. As the earliest Biblical narratives come
to us they can be truly said to be inspired, but intended to be
inspired visions, parables, apocalyptic in their nature rather than
a literal statement of historical fact. In that age, they resemble
the more perfect parables of our Lord, many of which were never
intended to be literal statements of fact, but nevertheless inspir¬
ed representations of essential and abiding truth.
The liberal therefore holds that inspiration is suggestive
rather than definitive. If it were definitive, only one system of
thought could have come from it. Since it is suggestive rather,
many varying systems of thought have come from it, all of
them holding more or less measure of truth. He also would claim
that the statement of Christianity as given to the heathen is of
great importance. As Protestants we can never claim that a
system of truth is necessaily wholly defended by the lives of its
exponents. For example, some of the most devoted men and
women who have ever lived, were members of the Catholic
Church, and yet we must distinguish to a certain extent between
their lives and the truth for which they stand. Protestantism
received its real intellectual backbone in Europe when in certain
works of his Calvin stated and defended its principles. These
works of Calvin became as it were the constitution of Protestant¬
ism, around which the strong men of Europe rallied. Protest¬
antism was expressed in such a manner as to compel their
assent, and give definiteness and force to what they professed.
I have just been reading a most interesting weekly, in
which there is a symposium by many men, both missionaries in
India and leaders of thought in England. One of the most
significant statements I shall quote. It is by Rev. E. P. Rice,
of Baugalore, India. “ Another fact in our Indian experience
ig no less striking. It is that the very same persons who reject
our theology, accept our teachings on every other science, even
although it is subversive of the traditional view of things con¬
tained in the Puranas and other sacred books, and although it is
foreign to their ancestral customs and prejudices. The explana¬
tion is not far to seek. It is that the science we teach is kept
90
The Chinese Recorder
[January
constantly up to date, it is in harmony with the fullest and
latest knowledge of the universe possessed by any nation, and
especially that it rests on a sound basis of induction which
cannot be gainsaid. But much of the theology they hear of is
of other days, ancient, mediaeval, traditional—possibly the best
of its kind in the days when it was devised and in the light of
the knowledge of the universe then available; but now in many
respects difficult to harmonise with the fuller light of things
seen and unseen which God has graciously put within our
reach.”
This same writer quotes from a Hindoo, tile author of the
“ Oriental Christ,” one of the most spiritually minded of India’s
sons, one who had testified that for long years “Christ had been
the meat and drink of his soul.” This Hindoo says in speaking
of the thoughtful and educated men of India,—“ These men are
steadily imbibing the spirit of Christ, and yet it is useless to
deny that their attitude is hostile to the Christian missionary.
Their honor for the personal character of Jesus is ripening into
personal love and spiritual acceptance, but their repugnance to
what is known as popular Christian theology is complete. Your
excellent people seldom care to make distinction between
Christian theology and the spirit of Christianity. The latter I
take it was left by Christ, and maintained by the humblest and
worthiest of his followers in all ages. The former is the result
of the controversies and accidents of the Christian Church, the
result of law and logic and metaphysical and ethical speculations
in the West. It is the spirit of Christ’s life that we demand in
India—charity, temperance, wisdom, holiness,—but they cram
us with the sawdust of theology.”
My readers will understand why I have given more time to
the statement of the liberal position rather than to the position
of the conservative. In the first place we are more familiar
with the conservative, and in the second place it takes more
time to make a reply to a position, than it does to state it in the
outset.
It is not my purpose in this paper to try and convert men
to one position or another. It is rather to show this, that an
uncompromising attitude on either side must not only lead to
dissension within the Church itself, but also weaken the faith
of our native Christians. Rather must I make this plea, that
An Inevitable Problem, How to meet it
91
1910]
the conservative regard himself as most deficient when without
the friendship and stimulus of more liberal thinkers, and
that the liberal thinker regard himself as most deficient when
without the friendship and counsel of men of the conservative
school. Each needs the other. Both kinds of men are needed,
and when they exist together in friendship and mutual respect,
then and then only can extremes be tempered, and even be made
impossible of any permanent existence. In the past these two
parties as such have fought each other and wasted in recrimina¬
tion and strife, the energy that ought to be spent in the service
of our common Eord. Hence history is full of blatant con¬
servatives and of blatant liberals. The blatant conservative
has produced the blatant liberal, and the blatant liberal has
been responsible for the continuance of the blatant conservative.
Blatant conservatism side by side with blatant liberalism,
produces atheism. Among missionaries today in China, there
are many conservatives who shun the opinions of liberals, and
there are liberals who shun the opinions of conservatives. This
has been a distinct loss to all such men themselves, and truth
has suffered even more.
Christian theology as formulated in the West must be
affected by Western science, even as the Copernican theory
once altered it. Christian theology as we have it to day, must
be affected by Chinese thought, if it be put into that form which
will have most power in the East, and it is only by mutual
respect, interchange of opinions, and mutual co-operation in the
actual work of saving and serving men, that such a strong
residue of vital, abiding, and unassailable truth shall be present¬
ed as shall be best suited to doing Christ’s work in the heart of
the Chinese. I am aware that there are many who say that any
introduction of new thought is attended with danger to both
faith and morals. I might reply that if it comes into a Church
divided by opposing systems, where there is insufficient mutual
respect and co-operation, then there is great danger. So is
there a yet greater danger if a consideration of the truth existing
in modern thought be delayed indefinitely. For when it comes
it will then come as a destructive cataclysm. Better for it to
come slowly and be used constructively. For example, the
Protestant Reformation has taught us great lessons. The truths
which Luther taught resulted in the undermining of the accept-
92
The Chinese Recorder
[January
ed faith of thousands, and the increase of immorality amongst
great multitudes of the people. The masses, in the surrender
of their religious faith, lost for a time their respect for law and
order as well. It was a cataclysm, for that was the only way
in that intolerant age, in which truth could come to men.
We are to-day entering upon a widespread renaissance, as
great as that of the Reformation. Woe be to us if intolerance,
or even the lack of mutual sympathy compel that renaissance
to come as a cataclysm. For I feel sure that whatever comes,
if we prepare for it together, lovingly, prayerfully, and in the
unity of God’s Holy Spirit, we shall avoid the storm and the
tempest, and prepare for a yet brighter day in the history of a
universal triumphant Christendom. I believe that modern
thought tempered by true conservatism is already giving to us
new and yet surer bases for all the essentials of vital faith, the
faith which has been ever the inheritance of the Christian
Church,
Review of the Year
BY W. NELSON BITTON
I N looking back over the work of Protestant Christian
missions in China during the year 1909 an outstanding
feature would seem to be its constructive character. In
general attitude the missionary force appears to have come to
closer grip with the whole situation as it confronts the mission¬
ary enterprise. The stock-taking process which has been very
evident during previous years has not been in vain. ‘Let us
then be up and doing’ has been the motto in the forefront of
the work of 1909, and there are welcome signs of a well-
considered and considerable advance in all departments of
service, especially in connection with the problems of direct
evangelization. This is only as it should be, for every year that
passes ought to find the missionary agency better equipped for
service, not merely in relation to men and material, but also in
reference to a truer knowledge and fuller understanding of the
situation. The day for magnificent dashes into unknown ter¬
ritory has largely passed ; most of the workers are no longer in
the position of 4 pioneers in advance ’ ; clearings which denote
WEST LAKE, HANGCHOW.
CREEK SCENE, DONGSI.
[Reduced from Missionary Home Postcards. See advertisement.]
1910]
Review of the Year
93
the presence of the camps of the kingdom of God are dotted here
and there over the whole area of non-Christian China, and from
these established bases the work of clearance, drainage, plough¬
ing and tilling advances, looking to the day when the whole
land will bring forth fruit to the honour and glory of God.
Our missions are giving evidence of the second century period
of their existence in the empire. God has settled us here and
given us a place to dwell in and a fine scope for our efforts—
‘let us, His servants, arise and build. 5 This spirit has been
very manifest in the various activities of 1909. Sorely needed
attention has been giveu to the problems relating to ‘ homes
for us and our little ones, 5 that from these spiritual homes,
the churches called by the name of Jesus, all necessary activities
may go forth for the accomplishment of the work of complete
reclamation.
I. Turning first to the movements connected directly with
the Christian church , it is quite certain that the year has seen
a very considerable ingathering of converts to the churches.
Figures are not yet available, but all information received
points to the fact that the past year has been considerably in
advance of 1908 in this respect. And the character of the
converts heightens with the passing years. Gradually but
surely, in almost every province, law-suit enquirers are diminish¬
ing. A few more years of steady perseverance along the line
of entire refusal to appear either directly or indirectly connected
with Yam§n matters, save in cases of clearly proven persecution,
should resolve the whole of this law-suit trouble and serve to
clear the missionary cause generally from much suspicion in
the eyes of the Chinese. The increase in Christian knowledge
and the deepening of the spiritual life of the Chinese church
members is a fact calling for profound thanksgiving. Without
such signs of spiritual blessing the harvesting of souls even
would have been a cheerless task. The response of the Chris¬
tian Chinese in so many widely separated parts of the field to
the message of the Holy Spirit is a tremendous uplift. The
revival movement, or better, the spiritual movement within the
church, has been carried forward from 1908, and in Shansi,
Shensi, Shantung, Honan, Fokien, Kiangsi, and Chekiang the
fruits of the Spirit have been manifest in special blessing. Such
works of grace, operating in the hearts of professing Christians
first and chiefly, are an outstanding feature of the year under
review.
94
The Chinese Recorder
[January
In this connection mention must be made of the growing
part which consecrated Chinese workers have had in these
enterprises . In Foochow and Shantung particularly this has
to be noted. A Methodist pastor in the one case felt and
responded to the influence of the Spirit, and great results flowed
from that beginning, whilst in Shantung a remarkable move¬
ment among the students in the colleges followed the con¬
secrated efforts of a Presbyterian pastor. Many students were
led to give their lives to Christian service and to offer them*
selves to the ministry of the church.
Iu connection with the various Bible Institutes which
have been successfully carried on during the year, as well
as at such conventions as that of the Christian Endeavour
Societies, held in Nanking during April, much prominent work
was done by Chinese preachers. Many of these workers have
demonstrated clearly their possession of gifts of leadership and
administration. Missionaries have testified frequently to the
great assistance their work has received from a policy of trust
in chosen Chinese helpers. In all respects the Chinese ministry
has proven its capacity and value as at no period before.
The Evangelistic Association of China met in Shanghai in
March and successfully organized. The Evangelistic Com¬
mittee issued an appeal to the Home Churches and Boards
calling for 3,200 additional men workers and 1,600 women in
order to meet the urgent needs of China. Special evangelistic
labours were undertaken by Messrs. Newell, Chapman and
Alexander, from the United States, and F. B. Meyer, from
England. The latter was the special deputation from Keswick
to the summer resorts and was also a special deputation from
the World’s Sunday School Association. Mention should be
made of the first United Anglican Church Conference held in
China, which took place in Shanghai during March, rfnd also
of the meeting of the United Presbyterian Church Federation,
held in May.
Sunday School ivork has made considerable headway
during the year; the literature published by the Sunday School
Committee meeting with special acceptance. Sunday School
conferences were held in the various summer resorts. The
Tract Societies of China have been in receipt of special grants
from the R. T. S. of London for the distribution of literature
among the Chinese pastors and preachers, and tract activity
has been a special feature of the year’s work. All the Bible
1910]
Review of the Year
95
Societies in China have had a record year. The whole question
of Christian literature for China, especially for the scholars
and the youth, still awaits, in spite of special efforts during
1909, the worthy attention of the Christian church. Meetings
of provincial federations have been held in various centres and
plans for the furtherance of unity and for the adoption of
special lines of work made and entered upon. There has been
further evidence of the drawing together of church bodies in
the empire for common service, and the sense of brotherliness
has appeared in many ways. A growing spirit of mutual
charity in regard to varieties of ecclesiastical and theological
opinion has emphasized this, while there has not been wanting
evidence of a deepened insistence upon the person and work of
the Lord Jesus as the central fact and one foundation of mis¬
sionary labour.
II. Turning then to the educational position . At the be¬
ginning of the year the plans for a Christian university or uni¬
versities in China were again definitely before the missionary
body for consideration. The Rev. Lord William Cecil was
in China acting on behalf of an influential committee re¬
presenting particularly the universities of Oxford and Cam¬
bridge and spent some time in consultation with educational
authorities in various centres. As a result of that visit Wu¬
chang has been freely named as a probable centre for a union
Christian university under these auspices. The fund opened
in England last year for this purpose is being pressed forward
at the present time. Two influential representatives of Chicago
University, Professors Burton and Chamberlin, aiso spent
some months in China during the first half of the year pursu¬
ing enquiries into the educational needs of China on behalf of
a commission in the United States, which is said to be prepar¬
ing to give very considerable help along educational lines to
the Chinese. The enquiries of the deputation were directed
especially through missionary channels, but it is not yet as¬
certained what form the assistance projected from Chicago will
take. A representative of Harvard University has recently been
visiting various centres to enquire concerning the possibility of
medical educational work being undertaken in definite con¬
nection with that centre of learning. The China Emergency
Committee, formed in London two years ago, is still attempting
to raise funds for the special development of literary and edu¬
cational work in China, and its labours are now bearing fruit.
96
The Chinese Recorder
[January
In Tsingtao the German government has made a grant
equal to £30,000 for the foundation of a university and has
apportioned a sum of ,£7,500 annually for its maintenance.
The Chinese government made a special contribution towards
the establishment of this new institution. In Hongkong private
philanthropy of a munificent kind has produced a university
scheme under the direction of the British government. Princely
donations have been received from both foreign and Chinese
sources, and the undertaking is assured. The viceroyalty of
Canton gave practical expression of sympathy with the move¬
ment. Both these university schemes are entirely secular in
scope.
The triennial meetings of the Educational Association of
China were held in May, and served to draw special attention
to fresh factors in the educational problem. Steps were taken
to associate Chinese educationists with the foreign members
of the association and a Chinese co-secretary was appointed.
The pressing question of the attitude of the government of
China towards mission schools and their graduates and vice
versa was discussed and has been further canvassed through
the year. The Chinese government, through its Board of Edu¬
cation, has not been specially active in matters of internal
educational reform. The elementary school system of China
is growing very gradually, but the government scheme, of study
has been steadily pressed forward and signs are given that the
work of the Board of Education, though subject to slips and
changes, will become finally effective and the curriculum in mis¬
sion schools must take count of it. More definite attention has
been given to the problem of students educated abroaf In April
twenty students went from the Nobles College in Peking for a
period of study in Germany, and in October a band of fifty young
men started for the United States. Christian work is being carried
on amongst the students in America and Britain, and in each of
these countries the Chinese students have organized themselves
into societies for mutual help. The number of students in
Tokyo has been further reduced, but a very large number of
serious-minded and diligent men are still there pursuing
courses of study. The V. M. C. A. work among them is
still being carried on, though with a reduced and altogether
insufficient staff of foreign workers. All round there has
been a solid advance made in higher education, and mission
schools and colleges have begun to feel the advance of govern-
1910 ]
Review of the Year
97
rnent competition, a competition which is not likely to decrease
either in character or extent.
III. Movements towards reform , which are of great con¬
cern to the Christian church, must be briefly touched upon.
1909 will reckon as the year of opium reform in China,
since it saw the meetings of the International Opium Com¬
mission, through the findings of which China received definite
international approval of her anti-opium policy aud the
unanimous consent of all civilized powers to her proposals.
This commission met at the instance of the United States
government, which is leading the w r ay in this reform. Great
progress has been,made with the eradication of poppy growth
over almost all China. Many provinces which aforetime grew
large crops have been entirely cleared during the year. Much,
however, remains to be done in order to accomplish the aboli¬
tion of the habit. The officials are not yet clear from the
vice. Both the Prince Regent and Prince Kung have been
very active and insistent in regard to opium reform. The
last opium divans under the Shanghai Municipal Council, are
being closed at the time of writing.
Proposals for the abolition of the queue and for the adop¬
tion of foreign dress in China have again been made, but after
consideration in official quarters, were rejected. The Anti-foot¬
binding Society has not been in evidence, but the movement
has proved itself firmly rooted and is growing steadily. The
Chinese press has showu its increased power in many ways,
both for good and evil. I11 the treaty ports the papers have been
often reckless in their anti-foreign propaganda and are at once
both a source of help and peril to the best interests of China.
Their antagonism to Japan is especially manifest, and during
the year the feeling against that nation has shown no signs
of waning. It is more virulent at the close of the year than
at its opening and is a growing menace to the peace of the
Far East.
Apart from this standing difficulty the international rela¬
tions of China are peaceful, and although at one time it seemed
that a rupture between China and Japan was imminent owing to
protracted difficulties regarding railway matters in Manchuria,
the year closes peacefully. The action of Japan in both Man¬
churia aud Korea has aroused deep resentment and the tragic
death of Prince Ito evoked little sympathy in Chinese hearts.
China’s present difficulties with other powers are largely of
93
The Chinese Recorder
[January
a financial kind and concerned with plans for development
and with Chinese desires to be rid of the encumbrance of the
foreign treaties. H. E. Tang Hsiao-yi made a tour on behalf
of the Chinese government, to America and Europe, enquiring
especially into the question of currency. At the present time
Prince Tsai Hsun and Admiral Sail are abroad making enquiries
into proposals for a new Chinese navy.
Railway development has gone forward rapidly. Con¬
struction under both Chinese and foreign supervision has been
a success.- The South Manchurian Railway, linking the
Chinese Eastern aud the Trans-Siberian systems, was completed
early in the year; the line from Peking to Kalgan has been
officially opened, and trains are moving regularly from
Shanghai to Hangchow. Work is proceeding on the Tientsin-
Pukou line, on the Shanghai-Hangchow extension to Ningpo,
on the Cauton-Hankow line, while the work of construction
on the proposed line from Ichaug to Cheutu was recently
begun. A good deal of diplomatic effort has been evident in
attempts to secure the right to finance proposed lines of railway
by competing nationalities, with the result that China is now
able to obtain loans for railway development under her own
auspices on very favourable terms. It remains to be seen
whether China can manage as well as properly construct a
railway system. In connection with charges of maladmin¬
istration of railway funds several leading officials and rail¬
way directors have been impeached and removed from their
appointments.
IV. Of political developments in China during the year the
most startling have been the removal from office of two of the
nation’s leading statesmen, H. E. Yuan Shih-kai and H. E.
Tuan Fang. The reasons given for the degradation of the last
named were very frivolous and inadequate. The Prince Regent
has not been able to maintain the extreme popularity with
which he came into power, and it is asserted that the more
conservative Manchu faction has gained a Teading hold upon
his mind and policy. The late Empress and Empress-Dowager
were buried in May and October respectively. The mausoleum
for the late Emperor is said to have been prepared at a cost of
five million Taels, and six million Taels is the estimate of the
cost of the funeral of the late Empress-Dowager. At this later
event there was a revolt of the wives of the late Emperor Tung
Chih, and a palace squabble of some magnitude resulted. Two
1910]
Imperial Edicts in 1909
99
outstanding deaths among high Chinese officialdom have to be
recorded, namely H. E. Sun Cilia Nai, a venerable and highly
esteemed official, and the well-known Grand Councillor, H. E.
Chang Chih-tung. The Provincial Parliaments of China met
in assembly for the first time in October, and herein has to be
chronicled an event of historic importance. This is recognized
as the first definite step towards constitutionalism in this
Imperial kingdom. Elected representatives now become the
mouth-pieces of the provinces. A united gathering of repre¬
sentatives of the provincial assemblies is being arranged for, to
be held in Shanghai. The political events of the year may
prove the beginning of movements of an epoch-making char¬
acter. At its close China presents a problem of entrancing
interest to all who are intelligently acquainted with her history.
Perils beset her on all sides and especially within, but careful
foresight and enlightenment on the part of her rulers might
make the present the beginning of an assured stage of steady
and safe progress. To Christian missionaries the times are more
than ever ripe for service in God’s kingdom here. A review of
the events of the past year must serve to deepen faith in the
divine purpose, to increase the measure of devotion and, above
all, to drive the missionary worker to more constant and
intelligent prayer for the future of this ancient empire.
Imperial Edicts in 1909
BY J. DARROCH, D. LIT.
T HE following extracts are from the Edicts of 1909, such
as had reference to, or especial connection with, and
influence upon the work ol Christian missions.
January 2 . Dismissal of Yuan Shih-kai. —Yuan
Shih-kai, Grand Councillor and President of the Waiwupu, had
been rapidly promoted and appointed to high office in the last
reign. We have on our ascension to the throne bestowed a
reward on him for his useful abilities and in order that he may
exert himself. Unexpectedly he is suffering from leg disease
(rheumatism) and walks only with difficulty. He is therefore
incapacitated for office. Let him vacate his post and return to
his native place for treatment of the disease. This is to show
compassion and consideration of him.
100
The Chinese Recorder
[January
January 5.—Prince Pu Lun and others who have been
commanded to inspect and find a suitable site near the Eastern
and Western Mausolea for the mausoleum of the late Emperor
Kwang Hsu, have now reported that they have discovered the
Chin Lung Yun, near the Western Mausolea, to be a spacious,
level, and most propitious site. The Chin Lung Yun is hereby
styled the ‘Chung Ling,’ and a propitious date will be fixed
for the beginning of work on the place.
January 2 .—Decree commanding the Imperial Board of
Astronomy to choose a propitious day in the 3rd Moon for the
interment of Emperor Kwang Hsu’s coffin. Also to choose a
propitious day in the 9th Moon for the removal of the Grand
Dowager Empress’s coffin and another propitious day in the
10th Moon for the permanent interment of Her Majesty’s
remains.
January 14 .—Decree stating that although Prince Kung
has been commanded more than once to pray on behalf of the
throne for snow in the capital only a slight fall has taken
place. Prince Kung is again commanded respectfully to offer
up incense in the temple of Seasonable Response on the 17th
instant.
February 7.—In these difficult times, when talents are
needed to assist in the administration of the empire, the State
does not grudge high emoluments for the inducement of scho¬
lars to join the public service and will also often make appoint¬
ment irrespective of precedent and rank. Recently, however,
ministries and offices in the capital and provinces in official
appointment and expenditure have not displayed sincerity or
honesty of purpose in that the men they employ and promote
from insignificant ranks to hold high office are seldom gifted
with extraordinary talents and many are mere flatterers and
parasites. The officials appointed by the different ministries,
viceroys or governors are henceforth commanded to be strictly
examined by the ministry of the civil office, and those who
hold several positions with large salaries should have them
reduced within reasonable bounds.
February 77.—When the commissioners for the revision
of laws last submitted the draft criminal code the office for the
study of constitutional politics communicated it to the minis¬
tries and offices in and out of Peking for discussion. It has
been recommended to us that the new and old laws of China
1910] Imperial Edicts in 1909 fOi
should be carefully compared and that the code should be
revised properly so as to attach due importance to human
relationships and to preserve government and peace. We then
commanded the commissioner for revision of laws to revise
carefully the code in conjunction with the Ministry of Justice.
February 22.— In regard to the memorial of Chiang
Han, Minister of Education, presented through the censorates,
the memorialist states that since the abolition of corporal
punishment in trials, although harsh and cruel feelings have
been reduced, the harm of delay and implication has been ag¬
gravated, innumerable litigation fees are demanded, so that by
the time the people’s wrongs are righted their properties are gone
and they are ruined. This is detestable in the extreme. All
officials are hereby commanded to eradicate these evil practices;
any offence when discovered will entail severe punishment.
March 25 .—Decree pointing out that the discharge of
censors Li Chia-hua and others on the impeachment of the
censorate are ordered with a view to exhorting breadth of mind
and condemning bigotry and commanding censors hereafter
to make suggestions and criticisms on reform with thorough¬
ness and on sound principles.
Decree eulogising the lecture on the general history of
Europe prepared and submitted by Wu Shih-chuen and
commanding the other officials who are appointed to prepare
lectures to make a careful and sound study of constitutional
matters and reform and present the result for Imperial perusal.
April 4 .—Decree commending a number of officials for
promoting education in Chinese Turkestan and dismissing
others in that province for neglect of educational interests.
April 8 .—Decree in response to memorial by the Com¬
mission of Constitutional Reform on the Scheme and Regula¬
tions of the Imperial Noble’s Political School. The officials
are commanded to conduct the school efficiently. The sons of
Imperial nobles are commanded to enter the school and threat¬
ened with penalties in the event of disobedience.
May 15 .—We have perused a memorial from the Board
of Education submitting revised regulations for primary schools
and primary courses to be taught therein. These are made with
the object of securing a wide and universal spread of education.
We find that they are practical and effective, and we command
the viceroys and governors in all the provinces to direct the
<02 The Chinese Recorder [January
Commissioners of Education to put them into force effectually
according to local conditions in all government and private
schools. Eet them appoint deputies to supervise and scrutinize
the regulations as they are being carried out. Should any
officials or gentry in future in their management of schools be
guilty of evasions and fail to comply with the regulations the
Ministry of Education should acquaint itself with the offence
and severely impeach the offenders. In this manner it is hoped
that schools will multiply and thrive in the empire and the
popular intelligence will become daily more enlightened so as
to fulfill our earnest desire to educate and cultivate our people.
June 20 .—Decree appointing a number of returned stu¬
dents who have passed the palace examinations to various posts
and expectant ranks in the Hanlin College, the ministries and
the provinces.
July 15 .—The supreme command of the army and navy
should be vested in the Emperor alone. We now anuounce
that we will be generalissimo of the army and navy of the
Chinese empire. We also command the formation of an
army Advisory Board to assist us in managing naval and
military affairs in the empire.
November //.—Decree approving the curriculum of the
Imperial Noble’s School and promising to grant the school a
copy of the collected institutes of the empire.
The argument for the missionary enterprise is three-fold—
from the Word, from the World, and from the Work. We
are pledged to missionary zeal and ceaseless activity—
First, because the Bible is a missionary book ;
Secondly, because the study of the World, as it is,
reveals the fact that the Gospel of our Rord Jesus
Christ is precisely what it needs ;
Thirdly, because the success of the work, so far as it
has gone, is surprising, and shows clearly that if
the church were united, and set upou discharging
the obligation, it would be quite possible, within
one generation, to cover the earth with the knowl¬
edge of the Eord,
Robert F. Horton.
1910]
Ode to Christmas Morning
103
Ode to Christmas Morning
“ Born of a lowly maid.”
’Twas when the earth lay bound in winter’s chill,
Born of a lowly maid, our Lord Christ came.
Not as of old, when God on Sinai’s hill
Spoke in the thunder and consuming flame,
No trumpet signal woke
The simple Bethlehem folk
To greet a son of royal David's line—»
The Holy Babe lay cradled with the kine;
And all in meekness, and in mercy mild,
He came on earth, with man to dwell, and came a little child.
Angels, in chorus high,
With voices clear, rang praises from the sky ;
Celestial brightness filled the heavens above.
The shepherds rude, their flocks secure around,
In wonder list, amazed at the sound,
With fear attentive to that song of love.
Glory to God ; on earth be peace, they heard ;
While news of Israel’s Saviour King their sluggard spirits stirred.
Low in the Hast gleamed bright God’s glorious star.
Wise watchers of the sky, with souls devout,
Hailed it the call Divine, and from afar
To seek a new-born King, in faith set out.
By night, by day,
They sped their way,
Through strange lands guided by that heavenly ray,
Till at the manger-shrine their gifts they laid ;
And with them worshipped blessed Mary, that meek Mother maid.
Prophet and sage and King
His reign foretold, Who came for matt to die.
And, by an angel’s wing,
Was wafted good news of eternity.
What high hosannas greet Him at His birth !
What offerings rare before His feet are spread!
That helpless babe; yet Lord of Heaven and earth,
True God ; and but a manger for His bed—
For us was born that bygone winter’s day
And for our heavenly comfort in the straw-filled manger lay.
Then I, this Christmas-tide would join the song,
And chant my ‘ Glory ’ with th’ Angelic choir;
Bend with the shepherds who to Bethlehem throng;
To bring my treasure with the wise, conspire;
Since ’twas for me Christ came on Christmas morn,
And of a lowly maid, for me, the Prince of Peace was born.
Nelson Bitton.
Shanghai, December igog.
104
The Chinese Recorder
[January
Correspondence.
GENERAL BOARD OF EDUCA¬
TION.
To the Editor of
“The Chinese Recorder.”
Dear Sir : Will you kindly
insert in the Recorder that the
majority vote of the members
of the General Board of Educa¬
tion has transferred the head¬
quarters to Peking and elected
the Rev. John Wherry, D.D.,
Secretary of the Executive Com¬
mittee, to whom any matters to be
considered by the Board should
be sent.
H. H. Lowry,
Chairman.
“heresies.”
To the Editor of
“The Chinese Recorder.”
Dear Sir : Your recent refer¬
ences to orthodoxy, the otber-
man’s-doxy, and heresy, set me
thinking, and the result is the
following list of “ heresies.” If
the gentle reader disagrees, all
right. At all events the points are
well worth thinking about:—
1. That Chinese Christians
are too poor to give a great deal
more than they do now.
2. That anything is good
enough for our Chinese.
3. That the salary of a foreign
cook (without his “squeezes”)
is enough for a helper.
4. That Chinese advice is not
worth getting (or following).
5. That a Ch inese who can
talk well is all right for a helper.
6. That every missionary is
fit for all sorts of work.
7. That the upper classes are
inaccessible.
8. That a small vocabulary is
enough “ to get on with.”
9. That we are getting on
pretty well in some things.
10. That anything less than
“ the fulness of the Spirit,” will
do.
Yours, etc.,
D.
MR. WANG TO HIS REVIEWER.
To the Editor of
“ The Chinese Recorder.”
Dear Sir-: I read with very
much pleasure and gratitude from
the Book Table in the December
number of the Recorder your
reviewer’s valuable comment on
the last volumes of my Girls’
Readers. I feel that I am hardly
worthy to be so highly praised,
and I am sure that through that
most valuable recommendation
of yours the circulation of my
books will be greatly increased.
But allow me to say a word
or two here with regard to the
criticism you made on my books.
You s aid that a tendency to
exaggeration in the statement
of facts was observable in some
of the subjects. I dare not
totally deny the existence of
such a tendency, but I can say
that most of the facts stated
there come from quite reliable
sources. Take, for instance,
the lesson on “ Pearls.” You
said that the sizes of pearls were
greatly exaggerated, but I should
like to hold responsible for my
statements several books, among
which is the Biblical Cyclopaedia
or Dictionary edited by John
Eadie, D.D., LL-D. If yon will
please turn to page 504 of that
dictionary you will see that some¬
times, though very rarely, pearls,
1910]
even larger than walnuts, have
been found The statement that
the small ones are as large as
cherries is, I must acknowledge,
greatly exaggerated, but in this
case I was misguided by the
wrong translation made of two
Chinese books from which I first
derived the statement.
The story of the work of
Florence Nightingale also was
abstracted from a reliable Chinese
book translated from the origin¬
al. I am sorry that I cannot
find the original to quote it
to you. In my opinion the
reduction in the number of
deaths from sixty per cent, to
oue per cent, when the wounded
are properly taken care of, is
not impossible. Just imagine
how thousands and thousands of
people died of small-pox before
the process of vaccination was
discovered and how few people
lose their lives now on account
of this same disease! When,
then, the wounded are properly
and carefully taken care of what
wonder is there that the number
of deaths is greatly decreased.
With regard to the expression
*' foot-long-feet ” $ fZ Z J£>
since even you, a Western gentle¬
man, was able to see that I was
using “ a neat literary phrase ”
to express the comparative large
size of the Chinese girls’ natural
feet over that of the bound ones,
I am sure that no Chinese lite¬
rary inau would mistake that I
was stating the actual size.
I hope you will not think that
by writing this I mean to argue
against your valuable criticism.
I thank you very much indeed
for your kindness in paying so
much attention to my books,
and I shall always be exceed¬
ingly glad to receive your further
valuable suggestions.
Yours respectfully,
Wang Hang-t'ong.
105
BIBUE DISTRIBUTION" AND THE!
NEW REVISION.
To the Editor of
“The Chinese Recorder.”
Dear Sir : My attention has
recently been more especially
called to the matter of the far
and wide distribution of the New
Testament and portions among
the Chinese. With reference to
this matter I would call notice
to a few points that may be of
importance,
1. The Bible and portions of
the Bible have already been very
widely distributed among the
Chinese population generally, far
wider than many of us think
or perhaps are ready to believe,
i. e., in the city of Tanyang,
on the Grand Canal, contain¬
ing a population of 100,000,
I was recently (old that about
one-half of the families have the
Bibles or portions iu their homes.
I asked for evidence to this
rather incredible statement, and
my informant told me that on
inquiry they will bring out these
books and show them to you.
2. But it is equally true that
this book is not read by those
that have copies. When a non-
Christian Chinese buys a New
Testament or a Gospel, which
very many are quite willing to
do, he will glance cursorily at
the book, find a number of words
and sentences in it that are unin¬
telligible to him, then throw it
aside, never to take it up again.
I think anyone will find that
only a very small percentage of
those who purchase these books
ever read them to any great
extent. Of course there are
exceptions, but these are very
few and far between.
3. One very common reason
given why the books are not
read is, that they are unintelligl-
C orrespondence
106
ble, and this reason holds good
to a considerable degree also
among the Chinese Christians.
This is a good reason and a very
effective one, and it is easy to
see that it is very generally true.
4. Hence the supreme im¬
portance of putting the Bible,
especially those portions that are
intended for far and wide dis¬
tribution, in an intelligible form.
First, there should be a very
clear and simple translation ;
second, the portions and books
distributed should be accom¬
panied with simple introductions
and annotations. With refer¬
ence to the first of these require¬
ments I have recently been
requested to make a comparison
between the old and the revised
Mandarin versions as to their
relative fitness for distribution.
While not in the least wishing
to give an unfavorable criticism
[January
of the revised, truth compels
me to say that in not a few
places the meaning of the ori¬
ginal text has been obscured or
rendered unintelligible to the
ordinary Chinese by au over-
strenuous attempt to give a
verbally literal translation. This
new version has many excellent
traits, and it is doubtless best
for the class room, where care¬
ful exposition is required, but
that it is not as intelligible as
the old version, will be, I think,
generally admitted, not only by
the Chinese Christians, but by
anyone who will take the trouble
to make a careful comparison
between the two versions.
We must make ourselves readi¬
ly intelligible to the Chinese,
both in the spoken and written
word, if we w T ould win them to
the truth.
Alex.
The Chinese Recorder
Our Book Table.
The object of these Reviews is to give real information about
books. Authors will help reviewers by sending with their books,
price, original if any, or any other facts of interest. The custom
of prefixing au English preface to Chinese books is excellent.
The Chinese Language and How to
Learn it. By Sir Walter Hillier,
K.C.M.G., C.B. 2 Vols. Parts one
to four. Kelly and Walsh. $5.00.
These two paper-covered vol¬
umes form the second part of
Sir Walter Hillier ? s book on
“ The Chinese Language and
How to Learn it. ’' The smaller
of the two volumes consists of
twelve stories from the Liao-
chai, translated into Pekingese
colloquial; the larger book con¬
tains the English translation of
these stories, the author’s notes
on the lessons and hints to stu¬
dents, also a glossary of the
characters met with in the
course studied.
The books are printed on
thick heavy paper and the type
used is a black heavy print.
The twelve stories contain, we
are told, 25,000 characters. The
Gospel of Matthew contains a
considerably larger number of
characters, and one cannot help
thinking that these volumes
might have been prepared in a
more compact form and issued
at a cheaper price.
One can scarcely endorse the
author’s opinion that a knowl¬
edge of 2,000 separate charac¬
ters is sufficient for ordinary
use. The missionary who knew
only the characters in the New
Testament would be reckoned
Our Book Table
107
1910]
badly equipped for bis work, and
there are more thau 3,000 in
that book.
The colloquial style of the
stories is good. Even expe¬
rienced linguists could pick out
a number of useful phrases to
add to their vocabularies from
a perusal of these tales. They
are, moreover, both interesting
and amusing. To one familiar
with the language of Central
China, phrases here and there in
the narrative seem to be good
Pekingese rather than good
Mandarin. In the first story the
following sentence occurs (page
2): A WWM&m-Mlkt&W
H 3 E * ft ft T. “ Clearly the
man was carried off to its deu
and eaten by the tiger.” Here
the character twice repeated,
is redundant. If it means any¬
thing, it is used in the same sense
as as the sign of the pas¬
sive. Its omission would make
no difference in the meaning of
the sentence. Other instances
may be given as £ $ jj|
“Wang Cheng’s wife,” where
the pronoun is used for the
possessive particle (iff. And
iiT $5 “wherefrom”
where is used instead of $£.
It may be said that there are no
rigid grammatical rules in col¬
loquial Chinese, and that the
people in Peking do in everyday
conversation use the expressions
quoted. This is to be fully
admitted, but the expressions
are colloquialisms nevertheless.
Sir Walter Hillier quotes The
Sacred Edict and The Dream
of the Red Chamber as being
works written in standard Man¬
darin. No such colloquial ex¬
pressions are to be found in
these books.
The author’s advice to the
student to emphasize the third
and second tones is one that the
present writer is inclined to
endorse with the addition of
the “ruh-sheng” for Mid-
China, but w r e cannot too
strongly dissent from his dictum
when he says : * ‘ When two third
tone ivords follow each other
one of the two has got to give
way to the other, and the first
generally gives way to the
second by adopting a first or
second tone.” The tones are
difficult enough as it is, but if
one had to remember a rule like
“ Ih one and puli not, four before
one, two, three, but always two
before four,” it would be in¬
finitely more vexatious than
multiplication and the rule of
three. Then as to fourth tone
words changing into the second
tone ; as a rule a second tone word
is always aspirated if it is capable
of aspiration. The dictionary
will show some exceptions to
this statement, but the excep¬
tions are : (1) Pekingese second
tone characters, which are real¬
ly “ruh-sheng” and are so
given in Kang Hsi’s diction¬
ary, or (2) classical characters,
which are not used in the spoken
language, or custom would com¬
pel them to conform to the
general rule. To illustrate this :
ch'ang is a second tone w r ord,
but it takes the third tone to
mean “elder” and then it loses
its aspirate and becomes
“chang.” ^} “ chao ” is a first
tone word meaning “ morning.”
It takes the second tone and
means “court” and it im¬
mediately becomes aspirated:
“ ch'ao.” 1 |[ Chung is a fourth
tone word and means “heavy.”
It takes the second tone w ? hen it
means 1 * repeated ’ ’ and is then
aspirated “ch'ung.” §|i Tan
is a fourth tone w T ord meaning
“ a bullet.” It takes the second
tone and means ‘ ‘ to thrum * ’
and is also aspirated “ t‘an.”
Other instances might be cited,
108
but these are sufficient to show
that there is a general, if not
an invariable rule, that the
second tone character is always
aspirated when it is capable of
aspiration and to indicate what
confusion w r ould be introduced
into the language if the rule
suggested were adopted. The
change of tone would, in many
cases, involve the aspiration of
unaspirated words and the con¬
sequent unintelligibility of the
sentence in which they were
used.
The book has been printed
without the author’s personal
supervision, and this accounts
for the fact that there are many
typographical errors in the text.
The character is wrongly
written for JjL three times (pp.
142 and 298 in part one and
once in part four). |jg is put for
on page 180 and Jj$ is printed
for on p. 267. sg: “for¬
tunate” is correctly given on
p. 218, but in a note warning
the student against confusing it
with ^ “bitter” the two
characters are actually inverted
and the author is made to com¬
mit the error against which he
warns the student in the very
act of giving the warning. 2^
is again wrongly written for
on p. 303. A lengthy list of
such errors might be pointed
out; the author will be wise if
he has them corrected in a new
edition or his book will belie its
title “The Chinese language
and How to Learn it.”
m M If !R. Children’s Hymnal,
compiled by Miss Garland, China
Inland Mission, Tsingchow, Kan-
suh. Edited by Rev. F. W. Bailer,
C. I. M., Chefoo. Paper, 17 cents;
limp cloth, 50 cents.
This is a collection of chil¬
dren’s hymns, nearly 200 in all,
which has been compiled from
[January
the various hymn-books used
by different missions, by a lady
worker in Kansuli. In such a
collection the hymns are neces¬
sarily of varying degrees of
merit. The preface apologises
for the simple style used, but it
seems as if the apology is due,
if it is due at all, for the use of
those hymns in a children’s
book which have a W£n-li cast.
It is a good thing to have a
hymn book specially prepared
for children, and Miss Garland
has earned the thanks of all
who conduct children’s services
for undertaking this labour of
love. Most of the hymns run
smoothly and well. With such
a number to select from even
the most fastidious taste will
find something here with which
it may be gratified.
Wi Wi The Two Religions:
Which is—? By Rev. Alfonso Ar-
gento, C. I. M., Kwangchou, Ho¬
nan.
This booklet—38 leaves—is
written by one who has peculiar
qualifications to deal with the
subject of Roman Catholicism,
its errors and deficiencies. A
good book on the subject Is
much needed and, though we
must always deprecate heated
controversy, a calm, dispassion¬
ate, and reasonable statement of
the reasons why we protest
against the doctrine and practice
of the Roman Church would be
found extremely useful in some
districts at this present moment.
The author knows his subject
thoroughly and has the facts
and the authorities for his state¬
ments at command. But while
the book contains a mass of the
most valuable information It is
presented in such a dilapidated
style that it is a positive dis¬
comfort to read it. The author
will do Protestantism no service
The Chinese Recorder
Our Book Table
109
1910]
until he whets his sword or, in
other words, gets him a writer
who will put his thoughts into
readable Chinese. Where errors
are so numerous it needs not to
call attention to them, but let us
notice the title,—^ ft ft
The Two Religions : Which is,
Which is what? Is $}, a mis¬
print for fj|? It is to be hoped
the author will revise and re¬
issue his book.
Murch6’s Science Readers. Book I.
With Anglo-Chinese notes by Prof.
Gist Gee. Translated by Sung Pah-
foo, both of Soochow University.
50 cts.
An excellent little book in sim¬
ple English on the elementary-
facts of science, culled from ob¬
servation of commonplace things.
The Reader is intended to be
understood by quite young chil¬
dren, and with the excellent notes
in Chinese printed at the back
of the book it should be found
very useful by teachers in Chi¬
nese schools.
Calendrier-Amiuaire pour 1910. The
Siccawei Press. $1.50.
This little book, issued annual¬
ly from the Observatory at Sic¬
cawei, contains the most varied
information on a host of subjects,
chiefly astronomical, to be sure,
but metereology, hygiene, and
statistics of various kinds all find
a place in this little multum in
parvo. It is cheap at a dollar
and a half.
The Transactions of the Asiatic So¬
ciety of Japan. Vol. XXXVI. Parts
2 and 3.
One of these volumes contains
an exhaustive examination of
the myth of the fox and the
badger in Japanese folklore, by
Dr. M. W. De Visser. Much of
the information given is drawn
from Professor De Groot’s Reli¬
gious Systems of China , so all
that is said of the tricks of the
fairy fox in Japan is said by the
Chinese about the same animal
in this country. One wonders
how much longer this superstition
will survive. Not long, we be¬
lieve. Nothing exorcises the
fairies like the locomoti ve. When
the puff of the engine is heard
in the land the fairy foxes dis¬
appear. The other volume has
a paper on the Ashikaga code by
J. C. Hall, Esq., one on the
Tengu ^ by Dr. De Visser
and one on Confucian Philoso¬
phy in Japan by W. Deuing, Esq.
m m it m t *
A very well-written booklet
of 15 pages, reciting the history
and activities of the Norwegian
Mission in China and other
lands.
“Makers of Cathay.” By C. Wilfrid
Allan (Presbyterian Mission Press,
Shanghai). $2.
In the preface of this handy
volume of 242 pages the author
asks: “Who does not know
something of Alexander the
Great or Julius Caesar, of Char¬
lemagne or Lnther?”—names
now familiar to Chinese stu¬
dents, on which many of them
could pass an examination
creditably. “ But who among
ordinary readers knows any¬
thing about Chin Shih-huang or
Ktiblai Khan, or Tai Tsung or
Mencius?’’—perhaps the aver¬
age reader of the Recorder
might hardly pass with honours
an examination upon these not¬
ables. “And yet,” says Mr.
Allan, “these latter names are
worthy a place beside the
former.” They were certainly
as striking personages in their
way and as famous among the
110
“yellow” quarter of the race
as the former among an equal
number in various other lands.
And so in nineteen chapters of
well-written material the author
gives vivid sketches of the lives
and times of “Confucius, the
moral reformer; Mencius, the
social reformer; Ch’in Shih-
huang, the ‘ first Emperor ; ’
Chii Ko*liang, strategist and
statesman ; Fa Sbieu and Suan
Ts'ang, the Buddhist pilgrims ;
Li Shih-min, the Emperor T‘ai
Tsung; Li T‘ai-peli and Tu Fu,
China’s greatest poets; Han
Yli, the prince of literature;
Wang An-shih, political eco¬
nomist and social reformer ; Chu
She, scholar and philosopher ;
Kublai Khan, the ‘ world’s Em¬
peror ; ’ Wen Tien-shiang and
Lu Shiu-fu, the patriotic minis¬
ters; Hung Wu, the beggar
king; Wu San-kuei, the peo¬
ple’s general; Koxinga, pirate
and patriot ; K'ang She, the
greatest of the Manchus ; Ch'ien
Lung, the conqueror; Tseng
Kuo-fan, the imperialist general;
Li Hung-chang, statesman and
diplomatist.” In these names it
will be seen that out of mercy to
English readers unfamiliar with
the intricacies of the standard
romanisation, Mr. Allan has
slightly modified some of the
spellings so as to make them
pronounceable, for ksi and like
spellings have proved insoluble
problems to some across the seas.
It is surely part of the mission
of every reader of the Chinese
Recorder (for the better under¬
standing of the Chinese people)
to gain some knowdedge of at any
rate the most striking epochs of
Chinese history and of the lead¬
ing men who played their parts
therein. But hitherto these
details have been scattered about
in a number of volumes, and
Mr. Allan has done a great
[January
service to the missionary stu¬
dent, as well as to the general
reader, in giving to both this
well-planned and excellently
written book. It is a reference
work for every one of our per¬
sonal libraries. And it is hardly
necessary to add that its paper,
printing, and binding are of
high quality.
W. A. C.
China and the Gospel.
China and the Gospel is the
title of the book which gives
this year’s report of the China
Inland Mission. It reflects
i
great credit on the editor.
Its arrangement is a work of
art, and it is also a compendium
of useful information, both ge¬
neral and particular. The illus¬
trations are excellent, and are
part of a scientific method for
fixing the interest of the readers.
In the various departments of
the work it shows a substantial
and well-merited progress.
The total number of converts
connected with the Mission is
nearly 21,000; of these 2,540
were received during last year.
“For the shepherding of these
souls and the evangelisation of
those yet unreached” the Mis¬
sion has 211 central stations,
more than 790 out-stations with
995 chapels, 9 hospitals, 34
dispensaries, 84 opium refuges,
200 day and boarding-schools
with about 4,000 scholars.
The separate reports given by
the superintendents reveal a
steady growth at most of the
centres, and the incidents recit¬
ed by the workers are full of
interest and encouragement.
One thing which gives the
friends of the Mission unmixed
pleasure is the increasing provi¬
sion which is being made for
the education of the children of
The Chinese Recorder
Our Book. Table
411
1910]
their Christian families and also
for the training of the native
ministry. Compared with other
missions the China Inland has
been somewhat backward in this
work. Remembering, however,
the main object for which the
Mission was established, the fear
of entering upon an extensive
institutional work is pardonable.
One cannot peruse the history of
this work without admiring the
Christian courage of its pio¬
neers. The efforts of George
Hunter, who has located at Tih-
hua-foo in the lonely province
of Sinkiang, is especially worthy
of praise. He exhibits the
true apostolic spirit. The as¬
sociates of the Mission are also
going forward, and it is stimulat¬
ing to read the wholesome con¬
ditions and promising prospects
of their work. By far the most
inspiring part of this neat little
book is that which refers to the
spirit of revival widespread'
amongst the churches during the
past year. The record of this
movement proves that it has
come not as the result of any
emotional effort but as the out¬
come of God’s presence in the
midst. The Chinese Christians
have since given unmistakable
evidence of a deeper knowledge
of spiritual things. The out¬
standing element in it all has
been a quickeued ‘ ‘ sensibility of
sin.” This tidal wave of con¬
viction and genuine contrition of
heart marks a decided advance
in the character of the Christian
church.
It is cheering to find that the
income of the Mission is steady
and that the partners in the
great enterprise of evangelism
have been able to extend their
borders. If one might venture
a criticism on this report it is
that the book contains 175 pages
of matter, 63 of which are filled
with statistics. It is expecting
too much to think that outside
of the severe student of missions
and those immediately connected
with the China Inland others
should take time to wade through
such a forest of figures.
G. M.
fiook review.
Letters from China, with parti¬
cular reference to the Etnpress-
Dowager and the women of China.
By Sarah Pike Conger (Mrs. E. H.
Conger.) Chicago : A. C. McClurg
Co. 1909.
Among this year’s books on
China- the one- that will be most
widely read, in America at any
rate, will probably be this
handsome volume of four hun¬
dred pages by the widow of the
late U. S'. Minister in Peking.
Despite a rather unfortunate
style, which might best be de¬
scribed by the adjective ‘ ‘ sopho-
moric,’'’ the book is thoroughly
enjoyable, and should especially
be appreciated by those feminine
readers who will be glad to learn
something, of the woman’s side
of diplomatic life in Peking.
If it be true that there is a
“ diplomacy of the drawing¬
room,” as well as the more
official type, then Mrs. Conger
deserves high rank among the
diplomats of her time in Peking.
To her it was given in no small
measure to gently remove the
thoroughly Chinese wall of mys¬
tery that had long surrounded
the Imperial Court of China.
Ohe‘ appreciates the extent of
that service after reading this
book-.
Mrs. Conger was one of those
who shared the strange expe¬
riences of the siege of Peking,
and among the most vivid pages
of her book are those descriptive
of that period, giving, one father
a different view of the siege
112
from that given by Dr. Martin,
Dr. Arthur Smith, or Mrs. Ada
Haven Mateer.
With Mrs. Conger’s philoso¬
phy of approach to the Chinese
we can in part agree. The
attitude of friendly sympathy
and open-minded receptiveness
is altogether commendable. But
to hold that things Chinese
must be right because the Chi¬
nese think they are right, is too
easy a philosophy and one that
the history of human progress
cannot sanction. Many of us
would not be in China if we held
such a view.
Some unfortunate vagaries in
Romanization have been allowed
in the book. The worst are per¬
haps the “ Pahz Ztah ” for Soo-
chow’s famous pagoda, on page
325, and “ the Viceroy, Joe Fu,”
on page 359. “ Ruling, ” on
page 339, is evidently a mistake
for “ Kuliang,” and the German
port in Shantung is several times
written as “ Tsintan ” instead of
the proper Tsingtau. A curious
slip is in the reference to the
“ Board of Rights ” on page 266,
though doubtless such a Board
could be of greater service to the
Chinese people than the existing
Board of Rites. His Excellency
Yuan Shih-k'ai’s surname is
repeatedly written as “ Yaun.”
It would seem somewhat object¬
ionable to refer to Confucius as
‘ ‘ China’s redeemer and saviour, ’ ’
page 320.
The book is beautifully illus¬
trated from photographs; among
the portraits being those of the
late Em press-Do wager and a
number of high Chinese and
Mauchu princesses. A full
index adds to the comfort of the
reader.
These letters of a bright and
open-eyed woman, who used to
the best advantage her six years
in China, and who enjoyed a
[January
friendship almost intimate with
the most remarkable woman
China ever produced, will surely
be of more than temporary
value.
P. E. C.
Lights and Shadows of Chinese
Life. By the Rev. J. Macgowan.
Shanghai : North China Daily News
and Herald, Ltd. 1909,
Readers of Mr. Macgowan’S
charming sketches of Chinese
social life, as they appeared
serially in the North-China
Herald will be glad to have
them in this more permanent
and convenient form. They
form a volume of 308 pages, and
illustrations from photographs
accompany the letter-press. One
wonders if the illustrations could
have been chosen by the cultur¬
ed author, for the picture illus¬
trating the decapitation of a cri¬
minal, opposite page 144, is in
utterly bad taste.
The volume would have been
much more complete if furnished
with an index.
P. E. C.
Inorganic Qualitative Analysis, by
Liu Kuang-chao and Mr. Whitcker.
Chemistry for Organised Schools of
Science and Practical Physics, by
the same.
The first will be published
early in 1910. The last two are
finished and in use in the Shan¬
tung Christian University. Wilt
also be printed during 1910.
Will all teachers of science please
note ?
The Nanking University Magazine .
Published by Nanking University,
Price $1.00 per annum.
This is the first issue of a new
magazine, which is edited and
managed by the students in the
University. Beside the Edito¬
rial it contains an Historical
The Chinese Recorder
Our Book Table
143
1910]
Sketch of Nanking University,
and articles on the Provincial
Assembly, Social Progress in
China, etc. The paper opens by
stating that “ It will be gratify¬
ing to the public to note the
appearance of this magazine.”
To be sure it will. On behalf of
the public we offer our latest
contemporary hearty congratu¬
lations and best wishes for a
happy and useful future.
Books in Preparation. (Quarterly Statement.)
(Correspondence invited.)
The following books are in course
of preparation. Friends engaged in
translation or compilation of books
are invited to notify Rev. D. Mac-
Gillivray, 143 N, Szecliueii Road,
Shanghai, of the work they are
engaged on, so that this column
may be kept up to date, and over¬
lapping prevented. N. B. Some zuhose
names have been on this list a long
lime are asked to write and say if
they have given up the work, or
what progress, if any, they are mak¬
ing. Perhaps they are keeping others
from doing the work.
C. I,. S. 1.1 ST.
Booker T. Washington’s “Up from
Slavery.” By Mr. Kao Lun-ching.
Wide Wide World. By Mrs. Mac-
Gill ivray.
S. D. Gordon's Quiet Talks on Ser¬
vice. (I11 press.)
Religious Contrasts in Social Life.
E. Morgan.
American Education. E. Morgan.
Romance of Medicine. McPliun. W.
A. Cornaby.
Fitch’s Lectures on Teaching. W.
A. Cornaby.
Chronicles of the Schonberg-Cotta
Family.
Law’s Serious Call.
Meyer’s Elijah.
Patterson’s Pauline Theology.
Method of Bible Study. D, Mac-
Gill ivray.
Halley’s Comet. W. A Cornaby.
Sterling’s Noble Deeds of Women. D. Mac-
Gillivray.
Speer’s Principles of Jesus, by Joshua Vale.
Livingstone’s Travels (out).
Gulick’s Growth of the Kingdom of God.
(out), by D. MacGillivray.
My Belief, Dr. Horton.
IuteUectual Development of the Century.
W. A. Cornaby.
Ancient Principles for Modern Guidance.
W. A. Cornaby.
Face to Face. Mrs. Penn-Lewis (in press).
Prose Mystics (out).
Confessions of St. Augustine (out).
GENERAL.
Halley’s Comet. C.T. S. J. Darrocfa.
Ballan tine’s Inductive Studies in
Matthew.
Organ Instructor. By Mrs. R. M.
Mateer.
Murray’s Like Christ. By Mr. Chow,
Hangchow College.
Illustrations for Chinese Sermons,
by C. W. Kastler.
By the same. Chinese Preacher’s
Manual, and Daily Light for Chinese.
Systematic Theology. 12 parts.
Dr. DuBose.
Torrey’s What the Bible Teaches.
By J. Speicher.
Stepping Pleavenward. By Mrs.
Crossette.
Expository Com. on Numbers. By
G. A, Clayton.
Expos. Com. on Hebrews, by G. L.
Pullan.
Little Meg’s Children. By Mrs.
Crossette.
Sermons on Acts. Genahr.
Outlines of Universal History. H,
L. W. Be van, Medhurst College.
Tholuck’s Sermon on the Mount,
By J. Speicher.
“His Great Apostle,” and “His
Friends.” By Rev. Chang Yang-hsiin,
Stalker’s Paul.
J. II. Jowett’s The Passion for Souls.
(In mandarin.) Fulness of Power.
Metaphors of St. Paul. Dean Howson.
By J. Vale.
Mrs, Nevius’ Mandarin Hymn
Book.
The Roman Theology and the Word
of God, by Alphoriso Argento.
Constructive Studies iu Life of
Christ. H. W. Luce.
New Primer of Standard Romauiza-
tion on the Accumulative Method.
By Frank Garrett.
Training of the Twig. Drawbridge.
J. Hutson.
114
The Chinese Recorder [January
Prof. J. Percy Brace is preparing
the following:—
Elementary Outlines of Logic.
Expository Lectures on the His¬
torical Parts of the Pentateuch.
Expository Lectures on Old Testa¬
ment History (Solomon to Captivity).
Biblical Atlas and Gazetteer. R. T.
S., London.
R. A. Hadeti is preparing Murray’s
Humility and Holy in Christ.
James Hutson Meyer’s Buidens and How
to Bear Them.
James Hutson : Willison’s Mothers' Cate¬
chism.
Mrs. R. M. Mateer: The Browns at Mount
Hermon.
Samuel Couling: Tewish History from
Cyrus to Titus (out).
F. C. H. Dreyer: Bible Reading Outlines
tor the Blackboard.
Lectures on Modern Missions, by Leighton
Stuart.
Laboratory Manual in Chemistry (Man¬
darin), by J. McGregor Gibb.
New Announcements.
The Traveller’s Guide. Religious
Tract Society, London.
An Elementary Study of Chemistry,
by Macpherson and Henderson.
A First Course in Physics, by Mil¬
likan and Gale.
These 2 books by Rev. Chang
Yung-hsiin.
Directory of Worship of Presbyte¬
rian Church, by C. D. Herriott.
The Fact of Christ. D. MacGillivray.
(P. Carnegie Simpson’s.) C. T. S.
“What a Young Boy ought to
know” (Stall). Li Yung-chwen,
Chinkiang.
Rev. J. Leighton Stuart, of Nan¬
king, has 15 lessons on " Greek for
Chiuese students,” and hopes to go
on with the work.
Life of Lord Shaftesbury. E. Mor¬
gan.
Torrey’s How to Pray (in press).
Finney’s Revival Tract (out). D.
MacGillivray,
Methods of Bible Study. D. Mac¬
Gillivray.
Supplement to Catalogue. D. Mac¬
Gillivray.
Com. on Amos. C. Campbell Brown.
Homiletics. W. M. Haye9.
Life of Mrs. Kutnin. J. Vale.
Newell’s O. T. Studies. J. Vale.
W. A. Maw has been asked to tran¬
slate Clarke’s Outlines of Theology.
Is anyone else doing this book?
We have received a copy of a book
in Mandarin called g| 2 . X> by 5 S
m * db % it- Will the author
please write Mr. MacGillivray, giving"
some particulars, e.g., publisher,
price, original?
BOOKS IN PREPARATION IN WEST
CHINA.
From the West China Tract
Society’s List.
Safety, Certainty, and Enjoyment.
Abridged Pilgrim's Progress; in verse.
Christianity and Confucianism. By
a Chinese student.
Great Events of Old and New Testa¬
ment ; in verse.
The Holy Spirit. How to obtain and
how to retain.
Our Bible Readings.
Korea and its People.
Griffith Thomas on the Acts.
14 Prize Essays on the Duty of Men
to instruct the Women and Chil¬
dren of their Households.
Sheet Tract on Payment of Taxes.
From Guilt through Grace to Glory.
By Y. M. C. A.
Temptations of Students, by John R. Mott.
Power of Jesus Christ in the Life of Stu-
deuts. John R. Mott.
Achievement—O. S. Marden (abridgment.)
Constructive Studies in the Gospel of Mark.
Burton.
Bismarck: His Life and Work (WSn-li), by
Rev, F. W. Leuschner.
Westcott's Commentary on St. John’s Gos¬
pel, bv Rev. G. Miles, Wesleyan Mission.
Onward, Christian Soldiers. Talks on Prac¬
tical Religion (S. P. C. K.), by Rev. Wm P.
Chalfant, Ichowfu.
Expository Commentary on John’s Gospel,
George Hudson.
Mongol Catechism. Robert Stephen, Jehol,
via Peking, from whom copies may be had.
19101
Missionary News
115
Missionary News.
The Loyal Presentation.
The proposition that the Chi¬
nese Christians should present
the Emperor and members of
the royal family with a copy of
the Scriptures, has now taken
definite form.
The Shanghai pastors have
heartily approved of it and ap¬
pointed a committee, of whom
the Rev. Ytii Koh-tsung is chair¬
man. All funds may be sent to
him, addressed
Rev. Yui Koh-tsung,
Henning Road, Shanghai .
R. T. S. Grants.
In our last issue we intimated
that the R. T. S., London, had
made a grant to the C. T. S. of
Shanghai for the purpose of
disseminating evangelistic litera¬
ture in the provinces of Che¬
kiang, Kiangsu, Anhwei, and
Kiaugsi, and that the said
Tract Society was giving grants
of $5.00 worth of tracts to each
one hundred missionaries in
these provinces. We are now
informed that the R. T. S. has
offered a similar grant to each
of the ten societies working in
China and Corea. The societies
concerned have agreed to a
rough and ready division of the
field for the purpose of distri¬
buting this grant though they do
not bind themselves to observe
geographical limits in their
ordinary operations. Probably
the other societies are intimat¬
ing to those within the area of
their field of operations their
readiness to distribute the grant
named under conditions which
they have severally drawn up.
Each society is also authorised to
make a grant of books not exceed¬
ing $2.00 in value to fifty Bible-
wotnen working within their
separate districts. These gifts
should do much to promote the
evangelisation of some hitherto
untouched parts of the field.
Needy Annam.
The Rev. R. A. Jaffray, of
Wuehow, South China, has re¬
cently published a powerful plea
for the perishing of South China
and Annam. The Christian and
Missionary Alliance, to which he
belongs, has a chain of stations
running across the province of
Kwangsi, bordering the Annam-
Tongkin frontier. He points
out that in Kwangsi there is only
about one missionary to every
320,000 people, but across the
border to the south there is still
more terrible spiritual destitu¬
tion.
It is true that the Roman
Catholic church is found in An¬
nam, but Protestants appear to
be without a single representa¬
tive. It is high time that the
attention of Christendom were
directed to these needy millions.
Dr. W. A. P. Martin.
Our readers will be pleased to
learn that our veteran friend,
Dr. Martin, is at work on a new
book entitled, “Review of My
Life,” or “ Gleanings of a Long
Life from Two Continents.” This
he will put into Chinese. After
about fifty years since the first
publication of his “ Evidences,”
he has just published a compan¬
ion volume on “Religion, Re¬
vealed and Natural.” Truly his
is a green old age.
116
The Chinese Recorder
Honan News.
Dr. MacGillivray, after an
absence of ten years from his old
field in Honan, recently spent
three Sundays there, holding
meetings more especially to reach
the officials, gentry, and students
of Chang-te Fu, Wei-hwei Fu,
and Hwai-king Fu, which are
the three centres at present
worked by his colleagues of the
Canadian Presbyterian Mission.
Railway facilities for visiting
this field from north to south
and from east to west are al¬
most complete, thus enabling
him to leave Shanghai Novem¬
ber 8 and get back December 3.
He reports the work to be in
a flourishing condition. In ad¬
dition to the three Fus, the
large walled town of Tao-k'ou,
at the head of navigation on the
Wei River, has also been oc¬
cupied. A fine new church,
holding from 700 to 800, was
dedicated at Wei-hwei. At
Chang-te Fu the representatives
of .seventeen Chinese congrega¬
tions assembled in conference
for three days, and resolved to
establish the first Presbytery of
Honan. When the Chinese clerk
had made up his roll it was
found that there were sixteen
foreigners and seventeen Chi¬
nese. The foreigners meantime
are members of the Chinese
presbytery until this body is
able to get along by itself. The
meetings with the officials on
Sunday afternoons in all three
cities were phenomenal in the
history of the mission. The
churches were crowded, and all
listened with marked attention
to an hour’s discourse on “ The
Programme of Christianity,”
after which copies of Drum¬
mond^ book on this subject
were distributed to all present.
The mention of the coming of
Halley’s comet produced a sen¬
fJanuary
sation, which seems to show that
missionaries everywhere should
prepare the minds of the people
concerning this unusual visitor.
Rally of Chinese Sunday Schools.
On December 27th there was
held in the Martyrs’ Memorial
Hall of the Chinese Y. M. C. A.
a united gathering of Chinese
Sunday school scholars. This
meeting was the first of the
kind, and is significant of the
rapid growth of Sunday Schools
in this district. The schools
gathered first on the grass-plots
adjoining the Soochow Creek,
and the scene here was a very
animated one. Each school was
mustered under its own banner,
and at 2.30 p.tn. the march
from the creek to the Y. M. C. A.
Hall was begun. More than a
thousand Chinese boys and girls
were eventually crowded into
the building. That they were
packed like the proverbial her¬
rings detracted no whit from
their evident enjoyment. The
chair was taken by the presi¬
dent of the Chinese Mission
Pastors’ Association, the Rev.
S Ts Kya, and he was supported
by other members of this body.
After a hymn, the Rev. F. K.
Li, of the London Mission, led
in prayer, and addresses were
given by the Rev. Mr. Yu, of
the Presbyterian Church, and
the Rev. Mr. De, of the Amer¬
ican Episcopal Mission. The
feature of the first half of the
afternoon’s programme was a
singing contest. ‘ ‘Onward Chris¬
tian Soldiers” wms the piece sel¬
ected for competition, and seven
schools entered, the prize being
awarded to the Presbyterian
South Gate Schools. Mrs. Farn-
ham, the oldest lady missionary
resident of Shanghai, presented
the prize banner to the winners.
1910 ]
117
Missionary News
The second half of the meet¬
ing was given up to a cinema¬
tograph exhibition ; this was a
source of great delight to the
assembled children. After more
than three hours of solid, un¬
alloyed enjoyment, during the
whole of which the best of order
prevailed, the youngsters dis¬
persed, each receiving on depar¬
ture a bag of sweetmeats.
Iu all fifteen schools were
represented at this gathering,
and these were representatives of
all the Protestant missionary
denominations carrying on work
in Shanghai. It is anticipated
that now this event has made
its opening appearance it will
become a regular annual func¬
tion, and that to the programme
of recognized Christmas gather¬
ings there must be added the
Chinese Sunday Schools’ Rally.
West China Religious Tract
Society.
Mr. James Murray, the Hon¬
orary Secretary, reports :
The work is increasing on our
hands and funds are urgently
needed. The circulation from
Chungking for the present year
has mounted up to 947,078
Christian books and tracts, and
from Cheng-tu other 205,000
have been circulated, and there
are the other tw r o sub-depots
whose accounts are not yet made
up at Yachow and Mienchow.
The calendar for 1910 has
been a great success; the first
two editions (75,000) being al¬
ready nearly sold out, we are
printing a third edition.
At our Executive Committee
meeting this month other 268,000
books and tracts were ordered
to be printed at the Canadian
Press, Cheng-tu.
We are also getting a supply
pf Pr. Me All’s M Catechism of
Health ” from Hankow-, which
will now appear on our cata¬
logue.
A new tract, entitled “A
Prayer for Rain,’ ’ has been added
to our list. Price, eight cents
per i00.
Also “ Important Words of
Scripture.” Price $1.20 per 100.
The well-known tract, “The
Training of the Twig,” tran¬
slated by the Rev. J. Hutson,
has passed the examiners and
gone to press.
The following three Tibetan
tracts are being printed, and
1,000 of each will be sent to each
of the nine mission stations on
the Tibetan frontier, and future
supplies may be had at fifty cents
per 1,000:—‘‘Sin and Idols,”
“The Gospel,” “ Conversion.”
158 grants for preacher’s
libraries have been approved
and are being dealt with, and
the remaining forty-two will be
appropriated within the next few
weeks. If you have not taken
advantage of this most valuable
offer of the London Tract Socie¬
ty, send application to Mr.
Whittlesey now.
The six pastor’s libraries,
which the Religious Tract Socie¬
ty of London have enabled us to
establish, have now been relegat¬
ed to the Friend’s Mission at Tai-
he-chen, the Church Mission¬
ary Society at Mien-chow, the
China Inland Mission at Pao-
uing-fu, the Methodist Episcopal
Mission at Cheng-tu, the United
Methodist Mission at Chao-tong
fu, Yunnan, and the Loudon
Missionary Society at Chung¬
king.
Chinese Students in America.
Nearly 150 Chinese students
spent a week at Hamilton, New
York, the end of August, parti¬
cipating in a progiam of plat-
118
The Chinese Recorder
[January
form addresses, literary contests,
athletic sports, social intercourse,
and business. Colgate Univer¬
sity and the town of Hamilton
met them with open doors. Dr.
W. W. Yen, Secretary of the
Chinese Legation in Washing¬
ton ; Professor Jenks, of Cornell;
Mr. Merrill, Director of Peiyang
students in America ; and Dr.
F. D. Hawks Pott, just arrived
from Shanghai, were among the
speakers, but everything w y as
managed by the students them¬
selves, and it was well done.
Their organization, the “Chi¬
nese Students’ Alliance in the
Eastern States of America,’’
numbering about 300 members,
was holding its fifth annual con¬
ference. From all the leading
colleges of the east and middle
west of the United States they
came, bringing their yells and
their colors with them. In fact,
these students, coming originally
from every section of China, ap¬
peared here as American college
men ; each one jealous for the
glory of his adopted alma mater.
Their varied accomplishments
and gentlemanly deportment
won golden opinions from town
and gowm at Hamilton.
Of profounder significance was
the conference of Christian stu¬
dents which followed. This is
the first general gathering of
Chinese Christian students in
America. In order to define
and promote their purposes as a
body, a constitution was framed
and officers elected, including a
general secretary, who will give
part of his time to traveling
among the colleges in the inter¬
est of promoting the religious
life of Chinese students. The
meetings, which lasted from
Thursday to Sunday night of
the first week of September,
were of a spirit and power to
gladden the hearts of the few
“old China hands” who were
present as guests. Mr. Robert
E. Lewis (now of Cleveland),
Prof. W. H. Sallmon (fresh from
a season of service at the Chi¬
nese “ Yale ” in Chang-slia), and
Secretaries Robertson and Rugh,
gave addresses; the five daily
Bible classes were led by Chi¬
nese, and the strong, effective
■work of the conference was done
mostly by these Chinese young
men and women themselves.
There has always been much
question in the minds of mission¬
aries as to the wisdom of sending
young men from our inisson
schools to home colleges for
studju For this and other rea¬
sons the number who have come
abroad, bringing the vital expe¬
rience of Christ in their hearts,
is comparatively small, w'hile
the total number of Chinese
students in America—especially
of those sent by the Chinese
government — is increasingly
large. At Cornell, for example,
there are some thirty-five Chi¬
nese students and nearly as
many at Harvard. The Chinese
Students’ Christian Association
in America has a peculiar mis¬
sion which no one but Chinese
can effective^ meet, of bringing
their non-Christian fellow-stu¬
dents into a realization of that
higher life without which West¬
ern science and culture wall prove
a delusion and snare to China.
No one who w 7 as present
at these two conferences can
doubt that momentous issues for
China, in the lives of Chinese
who are to be leaders of tlieir
countrymen, are being determin¬
ed now in America. American
college life, especially in the big
State universities, makes it easy
for freedom to become license
and for independence to induce
unfaith. New, strange ways of
thinking and acting, standards
119
Missionary News
1910 ]
of social propriety which often
seem utterly at variance with
the moral training which these
young people have had at home,
—all this makes it our due to
them while they are receiving
the impress of obvious things,
to see that they also come in
contact with essentials. Min
wei pang pen (‘ ‘ the people are
the root of the state,”).—in¬
dividual character the prere¬
quisite of national strength,—
Christ the pattern and the source
of strength for living the life
that is worth while,—ibe invest¬
ment of life in service that will
count most lor the kingdom of
heaven and for brother-man ;—
these are the ideals for which
gifted and devoted young leaders
of Chinese in America are work¬
ing.
C. M. E. S.
Impressions of Formosa.
Rev. Hope Moncrieff, E. P.
Mission, formerly of Eug-cliun,
Amoy, but now of Sho-ka,
Formosa, sends us the following
interesting letter:—
After ten years of work on the
mainland, coming over to the
island of Formosa with its sepa¬
rate history, traditions and va¬
rious strata of population, one
finds oneself in a different world.
And yet, strange to say, it is
the same old China after all.
Mr. Moody puts this very pithi¬
ly in his excellent book on For¬
mosa, “The Heathen Heart.”
“ As for the Chinese,” he says,
“whether in town or country,
they laugh and weep as they
did a thousand years ago ; they
have the same cares, the same
anxieties about crops and busi¬
ness, the same planning to find
wives for their sons, and hus¬
bands for their daughters, the
same dread of demons and
offended spirits, the same long¬
ing for wealth and sons and
honour and length of days, the
same vague fear of death. The
new thing in Formosa is this :
not a little modification in their
surroundings, a slight change
in their customs, a shortening
of their coats, a lengthening of
their trousers, a tightening of
their sleeves, some smattering of
knowledge, a handful of foreign
phrases, a taste of science, a
touch of agnosticism.”
I have not been long enough
here to compare the climate of
Formosa with that of the main¬
land. I arrived in the very
hottest season. The tempera¬
ture seemed, even during the
heat, to cool down wonderfully
at nights. The country is flat,
and being near the sea, high
winds prevail at times. For¬
merly, too, Chiang-hoa mos¬
quitoes were proverbial, almost
notorious, one might say.
There was a rhyming couplet
which ran thus :—
“The wind of Tok-kang (a town on
the coast some miles away)
And the Chiang-hoa bang” (bang-
mosquito).
The large number of stagnant
pools and filthy drains which
seemed to be breeding places for
the little carriers of the malarial
germ, have been superseded by
broad deep drains, running
along the sides of the wide
streets. The result is that mos¬
quitoes have been enormously
reduced in numbers, and along
with them the fever also.
There are more of what are
called the comforts of civiliza¬
tion than in the inland parts of
Fukien. There are few places
of importance that cannot be
reached by railway or trolley.
It is a pleasure to walk on the
smooth well-made roads. One
120
The Chinese Recorder
[January
can post letters to any part of
the world from the remotest
village. Generally speaking, al¬
most anything can be purchased,
and if the articles are not
“made in Germany” they are
“ made in Japan.” Any mission¬
ary coming out here need supply
himself with a very small outfit
until he sees what can be had
on the island. There are some
striking differences in the cus¬
toms and habits of the For¬
mosan Chinese. The greater
number live in hamlets on the
plains. These hamlets are en¬
circled by tall bamboos, com¬
pletely screening the dwellings
from view. Travelling along
the railway line, nothing is
visible but clumps of bamboo
trees, and one who did not know
the customs of the people would
be inclined to ask, as a visitor
once did, “Yes! Formosa is a
beautiful place, but where are
the people?” Business and
farming may be said to be the
chief occupations. No longer
does the Chinese scholar take the
first rank in the time-honoured
quartette of employments—scho¬
lars, farmers, workmen, and
traders. The Chinese literary
man, with the long flowing
garment, has almost disappeared,
and along with him have gone
many of the old courtly manners
of the Chiuese gentleman. All
the associations that gathered
round the anuual goings up to
the prefectural city for examina¬
tion, as dear to the heart of a
literary Chinaman as the going
up to the feasts at Jerusalem
must have been to the heart of
the devout Jew, are a thing of
the past. A new learning and
new ambitions have taken the
place of the old. In another
generation it will be a rare
thing to find a boy on the
island well-versed in Chinese
literature. The Chinese classics
are no longer taught in the
schools in the same thorough
way that they used to be. Mod¬
ern text-books and primers
have taken their place. Japanese
is eagerly sought for its com¬
mercial value. Japanese-speak¬
ing clerks and accountants in
batiks and offices and post offices
are now wanted, just as English-
speaking men are wanted on the
coast of China.
It is fairly evident that the
Japanese are exploiting the
island of Formosa for their own
benefit. They are here to develop
the resources of the island,
primarily for themselves. The
other day when the engineer in
a sugar mill was explaining to
me how the modern machinery
extracted 80 per cent, of the
juice out of the cane, twice as
much or more as the old native
mill drawn by cattle, I thought,
Well ! that is just an illustra¬
tion of how the Japanese are
squeezing as much out of the
island for themselves as they
possibly can. Of course the
Chinese benefit incidentally, and
possibly they are grateful. On
the whole they like the new
order of things, although they
do not love the nation that
rules. They are fully alive to
the benefits that the new itgime
has introduced. But although,
like the dogs, they do eat fairly
big crumbs from the master’s
table, it is not to say that they
would not prefer to share in the
feast.
The coming of Japan has
wrought many changes in the
social life of the Chinese. Some
of these are for good and some
for evil. The rights of property
have become more secure. The
endless feuds as to the owner¬
ship of land have come to an
end. Courts of law have been
1910 ]
Missionary News
121
established where a certain mea¬
sure of justice is meted out to
all, Christian and heathen alike.
As an instance of the thorough
way in which the Japanese deal
with disease, they levy on every
household a monthly tax of two
rats. A fine is imposed on those
who fail to produce the tax.
Every rat is examined, and if
found to be plague-infected the
house from which the rats came,
has to be thoroughly cleansed
and disinfected.' Twice a year
every house and shop has to
disgorge all its effects and be
thoroughly cleaned out. Rows
of tables line the streets, covered
with bottles, and boots, and
fruits, and boxes, and tins, and
cans, and pots, and pans, while
the inspector passes along and
goes in to see that the shops
have been properly cleaned.
Fancy Fleet St. in London or
Princes St. in Edinburgh having
to undergo an ordeal like this.
Then there is such a complete
aud thorough system of espion¬
age that open crimes, such as
theft and gambling, are rare.
A few days ago I met at the
Cliiaug-hoa station a drove of
forty handcuffed men being led
off to the central Formosa prison
for secret gambling. Opium¬
smoking among old smokers is
tolerated, but new licences, as
far as one can find out, are not
easily obtained. Thus the gov¬
ernment have reduced and al¬
most abolished violent and open
crime. As a man said when
preaching with me in a village
the other day : “Is not this a
time of peace ! Tether your
cattle to that tree over the
night, and who will dare to
come and steal a single one !
What a change, from the former
time!’’ The Japanese are de¬
monstrating in the eyes of all
that much that is good can be
brought into the social life of a
people by making crime difficult.
But the missionary problem
remains the same. These out¬
ward changes leave the heart of
man untouched. The nature
remains in a state of alienation
from God the P A ather and His
Son Jesus Christ. The very
nation that seeks to put down
opium-smoking and gambling
with such a firm baud, brings
with it wine-drinking, prostitu¬
tion, anti-Christian literature
and many other evils. The heart
of man seeks out many inven¬
tions. New forms of evil take the
place of the old. As one set of
vices goes out, another comes in.
Iu missionary work one of the
most striking differences between
the conditions of work on the
mainland and in Formosa seems
to be the liberty of the indivi¬
dual. In China to become a
Christian often meaus the loss of
all things. Many of the older
converts iu Formosa suffered in
this way under Chinese rule.
Pastor Eim, of Chiang-hoa, gave
up everything when a mere lad
to follow Christ. But that day
has gone past. No mail now can
seize a neighbour’s goods just
because lie is a Christian. A
certain measure of civil aud re¬
ligious liberty has come with
Japanese rule. The hand of the
oppressor is restrained. Persecu¬
tion, bitter enough, still prevails.
But a Christian man can now
call his house aud his fields his
own. The Japanese do not allow
a man to be openly persecuted
just because of his Christianity.
Several of the leading officials
in the capital city of Tai-ho-ku
are connected with the flourish¬
ing Japanese church there.
This new state of things has
brought about two great changes
in the conditions of missionary
life. That department of work
122
The Chinese Recorder
known in China by the name of
“Cases,” ending sometimes in
law-suits, has entirely disappear¬
ed. Seldom do preachers ever
visit a missionary with a view
to obtaining his influence on the
side of a Christian in the settle¬
ment of a case at court. The
Japanese would not tolerate
interference for one moment.
What a blessing it would be for
missionaries in China if only offi¬
cials would take up this attitude !
Then it has brought fresh
openings for the Christian
church and the missionary. It
is a favourite thought with Paul
that Christ came just at the
[January
fittest moment in the world’s
liistory. The extent of the Ro¬
man Empire as an open field of
evangelization, the diffusion of
the Greek language as a channel
of general communication, the
dispersion of the Jews, —all these
things had prepared the way for
the spread of the Gospel. Now
in Formosa is the fit moment
for the church to step in and
press forward in the work of
evangelization. Many of the
preachers are alive to the call
that faces them. One notices
how ready all earnest preachers
are to prosecute the work of
evangelization.
The Month.
GOVERNMENTaE.
One of the Chinese Ministers abroad
has telegraphed to the Peking govern¬
ment to the effect that the proposal
to establish a financial commission
has been dropped.
T.E. Wu Ting fang, Lin Shih-hsun,
Chien Hsun and Du Tseng-hsiang
have all urged the government to
appoint a commission of inen well
versed in law to enquire into the
question of extra-territoriality and to
make suggestions for the abolition of
that privilege so as to make China a
free country in fact as well as in
name. The government is said to
view the proposal very favourably.
The Peking government has tele¬
graphed to the Imperial Residents at
Lhasa instructing them to make clear
to the Dalai Lama the difference be¬
tween the spheres of religions adminis¬
tration and of civil administration,
and to give him to understand that he
has no concern with the latter, his
interference in which only retards the
progress of the dependency.
Trade and Commerce.
The National Review “ reports that
the Chinese people are most enthusias¬
tic over the National Debt Fund. We
have reported that the Chinese mer¬
chants here unanimously decided to
support it at a meeting held a few days
ago, and we hear now that telegrams
have been received by the Tientsin
Chamber of Commerce from Mukden,
Chengteh, Shanhaikwan and Hang¬
chow promising assistance. The Tien¬
tsin Educational Association lias un¬
dertaken to deliver lectures in further¬
ance of the object and the Protestant
Mission has called a meeting to sup¬
port it. The Prince Regent is taking
the keenest interest in the movement
and has instructed his Ministers to
draw up some regulations with a view
to encouraging it. He is said to be
very pleased with the support given
to the movement and to have remark¬
ed to a certain member of the govern¬
ment that it shows that the patriotism
of the people is on the increase.”
Railways in all parts of the empire
are projected, plans for raising funds
laid, and some carried out. The link¬
ing of the north-western provinces
and the coast becomes an affair of
the near future.
The Board of Agriculture, Industry
and Commerce has cabled to H.E.
Yang-shu, Chinese Minister to Bel¬
gium, informing him that the Board
has raised a fund for the expenses of
the Chinese section of the coming ex¬
hibition in Belgium and instructing
His Excellency to request the Belgian
government to reserve a piece of land
for the Chinese merchants in the ex¬
hibition grounds.
The Board of Agriculture, Industry
and Commerce recently sent fifty ex¬
students of the Higher Industrial
School to Hupeh to prospect for iron
Missionary Journal
123
1910]
mines. They have returned to Peking
and reported that there are six rich
iron mines in the province which can
supply sufficient material to manu¬
factories, but that transportation is at
present very difficult and light rail¬
ways should be constructed,
Education and Reform.
The government contemplates send¬
ing a delegate to Lhasa for the pur¬
pose of inducing the Dalai Lama to be
faithful to China and not to prevent
reform measures being put into opera¬
tion.
The Prince Regent has verbally
stated in the presence of the Ministers
of the Grand Council that the news
contained in the Chinese press relating
to the depraved history of covetous
officials is very beneficial in the re¬
organization of the official system. As
the news is so interesting, councillors
should pay attention and read the
papers so that investigations may be
made into the facts.
H. E. Chien Hsun has memorialized
the Throne through the Waiwupu
stating that he has been abroad over
twenty years and lias always conformed
to Chinese customs and etiquette and
praying that a decree be issued forbid¬
ding Chinese Ministers to foreign
countries to cut off their queues or
change their costume. His Excel¬
lency has presented another memorial
saying that he is in favour of mono¬
gamy and praying that Chinese Minis¬
ters abroad be prohibited from taking
foreign ladies as wives, as some of
them have done to the harm of the
country. These memorials are, how¬
ever, directed against H.E. Lu Tseng-
hsiang, with whom lie is noton friend¬
ly terms, and who is known to be
partial to the foreign style of dress.
Missions.
Dr. Edwards visits China in order
to study the opportunities and pos¬
sibilities of founding a medical college
and inaugurating a school for the
study of eastern Asiatic diseases and
medicine and hygienic conditions, to
be supported by Harvard University.
During the past week Archdeacon
Thomson, of the American Church
Mission, celebrated the fiftieth an¬
niversary of his work in China—a
wonderful record indeed. On Tues¬
day afternoon, at the Chinese Y. M.
C. A., the venerable archdeacon was
the guest of honour at a reception
given by the Chinese members of thir¬
teen churches belonging to the Amer¬
ican Cl lurch Mission in Kiangsu
province, when he was made the re¬
cipient of a handsome silver tea ser¬
vice as a token of the love and esteem
ill which he is held by the people
amongst whom he has laboured for
such a lengthy period. The interest¬
ing function was attended by nearly
i.ooo Chinese Christians, and though
he is already well beyond the allotted
span it will tie the earnest wish of all
who know him that Archdeacon
Thomson may yet be spared for many
years to continue his good work
amongst the natives of this country.—
National Revieiv.
Missionary Journal.
BIRTHS.
AT Ruling, 7th September, to Dr. and
Mrs. Geo. F. DeVoe, Friends M.,
a son (Ezra).
AT Galetin, Pa., 22nd September, to
Rev. and Mrs. U. R. Jones, M. E.
M., a son (Robert Wood).
AT Lienchow, 4U1 October, to Rev.
and Mrs R. F. Edwards, A. P. M.,
a daughter (Mary Eleanor).
In England, 15th October, to Mr.
and Mrs. E. Tomai.in, C. I. M., a
son (Edward Dauiel Josd).
AT Laohokow, 22nd October, to Ot.av
and Sophie EsfEeCxREan, Norw.
M., a son (Sigurd Gabriel).
At Tientsin, 10th November, to Mr.
and Mrs. O. J. Krause, M. E. M.,
a son (William Owen).
At Nancbang, 10th Novembe-, to
Rev. and Mrs. F. C. GaeE, M. E.
M., a son (Francis).
At Chinkiang, 12th November, to
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Tuee, C. I,
M., a daughter (Sheila Rosalie).
AT Fengsiangfu, 13th November, to
Mr. and Mrs. R. W. MiDDEETON.
C. I, M., a son.
AT Yunnaufu, 14th November, to Mr,
and Mrs. GLADSTONE PORTKUS, C.
I. M., a daughter (Ruth Catherine).
124
The Chinese Recorder
AT Shanghai, 19th November, to Rev.
and Mrs John Darroch, a daugh¬
ter (Eleanor Maude).
At Wuhu, 25th November, to Mr.
and Mrs. Robert Young, C. I.
M., a daughter (Alison Mar}').
At Chingchowfu, Shantung, 30th
November, to Rev. and Mrs. Frank
Madeley. E. B. M., a daughter
(Marjorie Nowell).
At Shanghai, 1st December, to Rev.
and Mrs. J. T. McCutchan, A. P.
M. (South), of Chinkiang, a son.
At Shenchowfu, Hunan, 7th Decem¬
ber, to Rev. and Mrs. C. E. R\nck,
Ev. Assn, of N. A. M„ a daughter
(Esther Marguerita).
At Kietining, Fukien, 10th De¬
cember, to Dr. and Mrs. H. M.
Churchill, a daughter.
At Foochow, 14th December, to Prof,
and Mrs. A W. Bieeing, M. E
M., a daughter (Elizabeth).
AT Ningpo, 16th December, to Dr.
and Mrs. A. F Cole, C M. S., a
.sou.
At Shanghai, 19th December, to Rev.
and Mrs. J. M. Espey, A. P. M., a
daughter (Mary Frances).
MARRIAGES.
AT Chengtu, 2nd November, Mr. C.
H. Coates and Miss H. M. Over¬
land, both C. I. M.
At Chefoo, 25th November, Mr.
Arthur Taylor and Miss L. C.
Button, both C. I. M.
AT Shanghai, 1st December, Rev. E.
Rowlands, L. M. S., Haukow, and
Miss F. M. Sherwood.
DEATH8.
AT Shasi, 4th October, Frideeorg,
aged nine months ; and at Tihang,
9th October, Walbokg, aged 2
years, 5 months, children of Rev.
and Mrs. A. P. Tjellstrom, Sw. M.
S
AT Chowkiakow, 19th November,
Mrs. W. E. Shearer, C. I. M.
ARRIVALS.
14th October, Rev. and Mrs. Wal¬
ter R. Williams and child, Friends’
M.
At Chefoo, 16th November, Mr.
and Mrs. G. Cecil-S.viith and child,
C. I. M., returned from England vid
Siberia.
20th November, Mr. and Mrs. H.
Lyons and three children, C. I. M.j
returned from Australia.
[January, 1910
25th November, Rev. W. E. Comer-
ford, Rev. Wm. Mudd, Dr. C. F.
Robertson, Prof. H. D. Evans, all
Eng. Bapt. M.
26th November, Miss G. Wyckoff
(ret.) and Miss L. I. Mead, both A.
B. C. F. M.
27th November, Mr. and Mrs. B.
Curtis Waters and child, C. I. M.,
returned from England.
3rd December, Rev. and Mrs. F. J.
White and two children, Am. Bapt.
Sem. (ret.); Rev. and Mrs. C. F. Mc¬
Rae, Am. Ep. M. (ret.); Rev. and Mrs.
A. B. De Haan, A. B. C. F. M.; Mr.
and Mrs. J. H. Brown, Indepen¬
dent; Mrs. Murdo Mackenzie and
Miss Alice Mackenzie, E. P. M.;
Messrs. N. Syenson and T, E. Lund-
strom, both C. I, M., fromN. A.
6th December, Misses Mattie Pe¬
terson and Mary Ogren, Free
Meth. M.
7th December, Rev. and Mrs. A. J.
Elson, Miss Wood, Miss B. G. Mc-
Naughton, Dr. J. R. and Mrs. Cox
(ret,), all Can. Meth. M.
10th December, Mr. and Mrs. A. E.
Seward and children (ret.), and Miss
J. M. Leete, all C. M. s. ; Messrs. W.
L. Oakes and E. Cowling, both
Wes. M. S.; Mrs. E. Tomkinson,
Misses H. G. Apltn and R. L. Smal¬
ley, all C. I, M., returned from Eng¬
land.
nth December, Dr. and Mrs. Jas.
Botchart (ret.), Miss K. G. Miller,
all For. Ch. M.; Dr. G. Taft, and
Miss Alta Newby, both M. E. M.
and both returned ; Rev. aud Mrs. T.
C. Britton, S. Bapt. Con.
13th December. Mr. and Mrs. I.,
Mason, Friends’ M.
24th December, Mr. and Mrs. T.'L.
Blalock, Gospel M. (ret.).
25th December, Rev. G. A. Fitch,
Y. M. C. A.
departures.
12th December, Mr. and Mrs. J. G.
Nilson and six children, C. I. M., to
N. A.
13th December, Rev. and Mrs. F.
H. Trimble and child, Bishop and
Mrs. W. S. Lewis, all M. E. M. aud
all for U. S. A.
17th December, Mr. and Mrs. W.
N. Ferguson, B, and F. B. S., for
London.
25th December, Miss Maggi, A. P,
M. , for U. S. A. ; Rev. and Mrs. J. H.
WORLEY and family, M. E. M., fo?
U. S. A., vid Europe.
SCHOOL BUILDING IN KINCHOWFU (SWEDISH AMERICAN MISSION).
THE CHINESE RECORDER
AND MISSIONARY JOURNAL
Published Monthly by the American Presbyterian Mission Press,
18 Peking Road, Shanghai, China
Editorial Board.
Editor-in-chief: Rev. G. F. Fitch, d.d.
Associate Editors: Rev. W. N. Bitton and Rev. D. W. Lyon.
Bishop J. W. Bashkord, Rev. A. Foster. Rev. D. MacGii„t.ivray,d,D.
Rev. E. W. Burt, m.a. Rev. J.C. Garritt, d.d. Mr. G. McIntosh.
Rt.Rev.Bishop Casskls Rev. J.C. Gibson, d.d. Rev. G. F. Mosher.
Dr. J. Darroch. Rev. D. E. Hostk. Rev. A. H. Smith, D.D.
VOL. XL1
FEBRUARY, lQlO
NO. 2
Editorial
Ube problem
of Cburcb UlmtE.
This number of the Recorder calls special attention once
again to the subject of federation and church union. The
magazine will continue to do so on all
possible occasions because its editors believe
that, next to the foundation work of evangel¬
izing the Chinese nation, the outstanding work of the mission¬
ary enterprise in this country is to set forward the unity of the
Christian church. So many extra-religious questions which
affect the churches in the home lands, and which stand in the
way of a full and frank understanding of the whole question,
are eliminated here, while at the same time the forces that draw
all Christian people together are so much more powerfully
operative in the face of common duty and need that the
problem for us is simplified. If, in the mission field, we cannot
practically advance in a considerable measure the day of
church union the prospects of this cause are dark indeed.
The papers presented in this issue are a hopeful sign of the
waning of counsels of despair. We could scarcely have found
a fuller representation of the whole problem in the mission
field with the difficulties as well as the promise of the situation
clearly advanced, and through all the writers the very heart of
desire for a better understanding aud for an effective union
is clearly visible. It is in this spirit alone that this most vital
126
The Chinese Recorder
[February
matter can be advanced towards settlement. And it lias to be
solved, and solved fully, before the kingdom conquest of our
Lord is finally accomplished.
* * *
In any discussion of the topic of church unity in con¬
nection with the method of federation, it must be constantly
borne in mind that uniformity, either of creed or
mi practice, is not the ideal after which we are striv-
TUntformitE. f ’ . f
lug. So long as our ideal ot church unity is knit
up with that of orgauic union it will be generally found on
examination to have for its basic centre an ideal of church life
with which we ourselves have been connected. The method
of absorption is scarcely the process along which we can hope
to work. The contributory and conflicting constituents are too
numerous. Blit if we bear constantly in mind the ideal of a com¬
prehensive unity upon a recognised common basis of essentials,
then there is no cause for either hopelessness or despair. A better
understanding of the principles which underlie existing deno¬
minational life, and a better knowledge of church history on
the part of all, would help forward very considerably the solu¬
tion of the whole question. By common consent it is upon the
representatives of the Christian church in the Far East more
than upon those in any other portion of the world that the
responsibility for solution lies, for the Chinese and the Japanese
bring, in a unique degree, a capacity for considering the ex-
clesiastical question in relation to religious life from an im¬
partial point of view which should be of the deepest service in
clearing from the whole problem all extraneous matters.
* * *
This is not, tlien, the time for us to come to a consider¬
ation of the question with any prior demand as to what others
are to give up in order that we may link our-
se * ves * n 11 n ’ 011 with them. Whether the ques¬
tion concerns the form of baptism, or any other
of the ordinances of the church, or whether it deals with the
method of church government, the open mind and sympathe¬
tic heart are essential. If the Episcopalians come forward with
the assertion, as some do, that episcopal government in its
diocesan sense is the sine qua no 7 i of church life and that
without a recognition of this there is no room for them to discuss
the problem of church union, then so far as they are concerned
Editorial
127
1910]
the door is shut for a majority of the Protestant Christians of
the world. Similarly, for a Congregationalist to insist uptfti
the acceptance of the congregational order of church govern¬
ment by the whole body, would illustrate his unfitness to dis¬
cuss the problem before us. It is the points we hold in
common which are de facto the essentials of our saving faith.
If they are not so, then we are by implication daily unchurch¬
ing each other. We have a common centre, one which
is fixed for us, our radii vary ; let us not confuse the two.
Above all we must beware of coming into the discussion
of this whole problem with a preliminary statement of what
others are to give up to us in order to secure the support of
our denomination.
*
WE trust, therefore, that the final expression of opinion on
the part of our Baptist brethren has not been outlined by
our contributor, Mr. Latimer, ill his instructive
Concession anO art j c ^ w j ieil p e sa y S: “It is a reasonable
request of the Baptists that for the sake of
closer union and deeper harmony, this practice (infant baptism)
be given tip.” We do uot wish to undertake any brief for
infant baptism, but we are convinced that the way to Christian
union does not lie along this line of “give it up.” It seems
much more useful for us to point out to our Baptist friends in
general, and to all who are interested in questions of federation,
that one of the foremost Baptist societies in China occupies
a leading position on matters of union. The members of the
English Baptist Mission in the province of Shantung work
freely and successfully in a uuiou movement with Presbyterians
and High Church Anglicans, and their denominational position
proves no bar to a union in theological training schools with
the Presbyterians. There is every reason to believe that the
Shantung representatives are good enough Baptists, and from
this fact we draw a happy augury. It may be taken to mean
that mutual concessions for the common good are not incon¬
sistent with the conservation of the denominational point of
Our final demands are sure to decrease in the face of
view.
a working experience of each other’s Christian faith, and by
joining hands wherever possible in work as it lies before us, we
do much to dispel difficulties which too often appear insuperable
when they are really not so.
128
The Chinese Recorder
[February
Gbe Catholic
BpostoUc /iBetbob
As things are, is there any valid reason why we should
come to the Chinese with a message of denoniinatioualism at all,
save in so far as we teach church history and
illustrate by our denominational connections
a certain emphasis laid upon some leading
aspects of Christian faith and practice? That there are varieties
of the human mind prone to run in divergent channels, yet keep¬
ing the same direction, is evident enough, and room must be
left in any cburcli unity movement for the adequate expression
of individual feeling. Otherwise the spirit of progress will
forsake the church. But to begin our work in China with
the presumption that we are facing here denominational instincts
among the Chinese, is wrong in point of fact. The Chinese
churches are denominational only so far as the foreign mission¬
aries have made them so. Under grace the conviction of cer¬
tain sections of the Chinese church may run towards a Pres-
byteriau or an Anglican Cburcli polity, or towards a Baptist
interpretation of New Testament injunctions. The comprehen¬
sive church of the future will find room for them all. This is,
however, a very different matter from pressing sectarianism of
any kind upon Chinese indiscriminately, as they may happen to
come under our teaching. The question for the missionary to
face is, What is it necessary for him to give to the Christian
Chinese ? The problems of denominationalism may and pro¬
bably wdll arise, but for the foreign missionary to raise them at
the outset is surely wrong. If we are working along the lines
of the primitive type of missionary enterprise, our work is
apostolic and not ecclesiastical. We have to preach neither
Peter, nor Paul, nor Apollos, but Christ.
* * ' *
In this issue of the Recorder we are very glad to be able
to present for consideration the opinion of one of our Chinese
Christian ministers. The article which is here
Chinese published from the pen of the Rev. Cheng Chin-
Contributors. \ i, i 4.1 4. n
yi was written in English by that gentleman,
and we are sure bis truly Christian expression of opinion
on the matter of federation and church unity will be read
with deep interest. As time goes by and we come into closer
contact with our Chinese fellow-workers it is the hope of
the editors of the Recorder that room will be found for
a free expression of Chinese opinion upon all points affecting
1910 ]
Editorial
129
the Christian church and the Christian evangel in China.
We are assured that if it were possible for us to get nearer
to the Chinese point of view in regard to many of the pro¬
blems which distress us as foreign workers in this land, we
should receive very considerable help ill the study of them,
and in more than a few instances they might disappear as
problems altogether.
* * *
It is an instructive and optimistic study to survey the
missionary map of the world as it was fifty years ago and
compare it with that of the missionary world
Sursum Corda. to . ( 3 a y < Then, Japan was without a Pro¬
testant Christian church; Korea, barred and bolted against
the Gospel, and indeed closed to all foreign intercourse ; China,
having a handful of missionaries attempting what seemed an
altogether impossible task. In Siam little was accomplished ;
India appeared a well-nigh hopeless enterprise, while the
greater part of the continent of Africa was ‘undiscovered.’
To-day over all these fields we see nations struggling to throw
off the bonds of ignorance and seething with progressive life.
The influence of Christianity has set its seal upon them all,
and over these countries are to be found, scattered in all
directions, churches, schools and hospitals, testifying to the
power and pity of the Christian Gospel of salvation. To
realize what the message of Christ, directly and indirectly,
has done to call this chain of sleeping nations into life is
the supreme antidote for pessimism. While much that is
transpiring in our home lands, the slackness of spiritual
life, retrograde movements in religion and social life, the
deepening power of greed and vice as exemplified in the
drink trade and in unprincipled corporations, saddens our hearts,
yet we realize, as we review our Christian world-map, that
behind all these depressing phenomena there must be an
enormous force, making, in the providence of God, for
righteousness, or the world had never moved forward into light
as it has done in this last two generations.
'And the end is not yet. The activities of the laymen’s
movement and of many kindred Christian enterprises speak
of bigger things still to be seen and known. Christianity is at
once the cause of, and the answer to, the question expressed in
the awakening of the heathen world.
130 The Chinese Recorder [February
What edicts are effective and what are not in China ?
For it has been made very evident by recent events that some,
if not many, of the recently issued Imperial
Tfinpeilat JSMcts commanc } s are f re ely ignored by a number of
ant> Progress. J J
Chinese officials. The case of a Shanghai
rice merchant, who was first illegally arrested, then, illegally
imprisoned, and thereafter, in spite of edicts issued abolishing
corporal punishment in the courts, illegally beaten with the
bamboo until near to death, is the last, and we trust the final,
illustration of a general disregard of the Imperial mandate.
Now China, for her own sake, cannot afford to have it declared
to the civilized world that her laws are made only to be
broken by those who should administer them. Her adminis¬
tration of the law must provoke the respect of the nations of the
world if she is ever to come, upon equal terms, into the
comity of nations. Delinquents who hold official position
should be punished not less severely than the common offender
but, for the sake of example, rather more in order that the
common weal may flourish.
For the sake of enlightenment and progress we trust that
the abolition of punishment by the bamboo is to be made effect¬
ive throughout China, save for serious crimes against the person.
It ill becomes the advocates of civilization to urge a return to
the barbarous methods of mediaeval punishment. Moreover, it
is certain enough that undiscriminating severity in punishment
serves to increase the intensity of crime. It may be a deterrent
in regard to quantity, but it deepens its degree. If we have
found in the West that it does not pay to hang for stealing and
to thrash for petty larceny, it will be no less true for China.
For the laws underlying the moral order of the world are no
less operative in the East than in the West.
* * *
The unexpected arrival of a new comet upon the heavens
cannot fail to become the cause of a good deal of uneasiness
to millions of ignorant Chinese, and in the hands
an& 'mnresT unscru P u ^ ous persons may easily be used to
add to the dangerous spirit of unrest evident
over large portions of this empire. Missionaries should make
it a part of their duty to instruct the people by oral teaching,
and by the dissemination of special literature, concerning the
nature and laws of these heavenly bodies. Explanatory sheets
regarding comets have been prepared by the Christian Eiter-
Editorial
1910]
131
ature and by the Tract Societies, and tliese it would be useful
to scatter broadcast.
The ignorant prejudices of the mass of the Chinese people
are ready fuel to those unprincipled schemers, who for the sake
of revolutionary projects, or in order to make the foreigner eat
bitterness, would use them to evoke the ungoverned passions of
which Chinese mobs are so capable. Anything which serves
to produce outbreaks at the present time may prove fatal to the
integrity of China, and as the friends of this nation, and as
workers for her highest welfare, much of the attention of
missionaries ought to be given to the correction of dangerous
and false rumours and to the calming of ungrounded fears.
Speak peace to the people !
* * *
Attention is called to the observance of a universal day
of prayer for students, which has been arranged in connection
with the World’s Student Christian Federa-
praser toe
Student Volunteers.
tion. The day appointed is the 27 th Febru¬
ary, and all those who are in charge of
schools and colleges are requested to bear the date in mind.
Unfortunately the day occurs during the period of the Chinese
New Year holidays and many schools which would have been in
a position to observe it will be having vacation. But the churches
of China might well bear this request in mind. Nowhere
in the wide world is the problem of the student class and its
influence for good or evil on the life of the nation more serious
than here in China. If, in the providence of God, there might
come a movement among the students in China of the same
kind as has so impressed the university students of Great
Britain and America, it would bring the salvation of this
empire very near. The Christian church cannot possibly afford
to neglect the student question in the Far East. Moreover,
many missionaries have been keeping in touch w T ith the univer¬
sities and colleges from whence they came in the home lands,
and the act of prayer, in union with the church at home, for the
student movement will help to deepen the spiritual link between
the schools and colleges of the home laud and the mission
field, which is one of the necessities of our day. China must
continue to call forth from the universities at home the service
of the best developed and most spiritual of the student life
there if Christian work is to maintain in this empire the high
standard which is necessary for successful accomplishment.
132
The Chinese Recorder
[February, 1910
<Tbe Sanctuary.
“ The effectual fervent p> aver of a righteous man availeth muck." —St. Janies v, 16.
“ For where two or three are gathered together in my Name , there am I in the midst of
them."—SI- Matthew xviii, 20.
A Hymn.
In a land where all are strangers,
And our sojourning so short,
In the midst of common dangers,
Concord is our best support ;
Heart with heart divides the smart,
Lightens grief of every sort.
Let us shun all vain contention
Touching words and outward things,
Whence, alas ! so much dissension
And such hitter rancour springs;
Troubles cense where Christ brings peace
And sweet healing on His wings.
Judge not hastily of others,
Rut thine own salvation mind ;
Nor be lyux-eved to thy brother’s,
To thine own offences blind :
God alone discerns thine own
And the hearts of all mankind.
Pray
For r growing realization of the
full brotherhood of all those who
love the Lord Jesus Christ. (P. 133).
For such understanding of the uni¬
ty of the church militant that the
campaign may be planned with the
highest wisdom, the fight fought with
the fullest confidence and the victory
’organized aright. (P. 133).
That we may maintain as essential
only such creeds as are scriptural,
primitive, and universal. (P. 138).
That from the first the church in
China may take a firm stand in the
manner of keeping the Lord’s Day.
(P- M 3 )-
That the approach of unity, though
slow, may be wise—and not depend¬
ent upon any agreement that involves
compromise of principle. (P. 146).
For deeper consecration in prayer
and a more truly devout attitude to¬
ward denominations other than your
own. (P. MS).
That branches of the Christian
church while acknowledging its out¬
ward divisions may grow beyond all
spirit of antagonism toward one an¬
other and find the way in which
division may be done away. (P. 151).
That the necessity for translating
the disposition to unity to practical
terms may rapidly be brought home
to Christian people. (P. 151).
That grace may be given us to dis¬
regard matters of secondary import¬
ance until those of first importance
have been settled. (P. 152).
That the expectation that the mis¬
sion field will furnish at least the
impulse to grapple with the problem
of unity, as expected by the home
churches, may be realized. (P, 152).
For a widening of minds and hearts
until they shall entertain a conception
of the unity that embraces all Chris¬
tian peoples. (P. 153).
That no efforts to partial reunion
shall be allowed to erect additional
barriers against the larger unity for
which we hope and pray. (P. 154).
That the life of Christ shall be so
manifest in His disciples as to win for
Him the mass of men who live in
darkness. (P, 157).
That the missions may indeed lead
the Chinese Christians to the realiza¬
tion of their own responsibility as
well as privilege. (P. 158).
F'or a closer relationship and a
more united spirit between the Chris¬
tians of the East and of the West.
(P. 159 )-
A Prayer for Unity.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Who saidst
unto Thine apostles, peace [ leave
with rou, My peace I give unto you ;
regard not our sins, but the faith of
Thy church, and grant lier that peace
and unity which is agreeable to Thy
will, Who livest and reignest for ever
and ever. Amen,
Give Thanes
For the peculiar contribution made
to the sum total of Christian life by
each denomination. (P. 138).
For the growth in spiritual life
which has led to the acknowledgment
and deploring of the evils of division.
(P- MO-
That the evils of division have been
so greatly tempered by an exercise
of Christian feeling and common
sense (P. 152).
For the many experiments in pract¬
ical cooperation that appear to be
workiug successfully. {P. 153).
Contributed Articles
The Next Step in Church Unity
(Read before the Killing Convention)
BY CHARLES GEORGE SPARHAM, L. M. S. > HANKOW
T HE convention in which we are now gathered is one that
has for its aim the deepening of the devotional life and
the broadening of our missionary horizon. In such a
convention the whole question of church reunion must of
necessity be regarded as vital, for until we recognise the full
brotherhood of all those who love the Lord Jesus Christ in
sincerity and know that the whole company of believers is
truly one in spirit and aspiration, devotion can never sound its
deepest depths nor soar to its highest heights. And similarly,
Until we can recognise the true unity of the church militant
and see in every missionary a loved and trusted comrade, it is
impossible for us to plan the campaign with the highest
wisdom, to fight with the fullest confidence or to organise aright
the victory won.
It is often said that, however at times the unity of the
church universal may be obscured, at the centre and circum¬
ference it must always be manifest. At the centre, when with
one heart and one mind we draw nigh to our common Lord,
and at the circumference, where each section of the one
indivisible body of Christ is sending its representatives to strive
for the extension of the Redeemer’s kingdom in the regions
where darkness reigns.
Men and women whom God has by His Spirit called from
all parts of Christendom to take their stand in the high places
of the field, gather together here for a little time in united
devotion. In lowly awe we bow before the Eternal Father.
We desire together to gain a fuller, a more experimental knowl¬
edge of the great atoning sacrifice, we hunger and thirst for
the infilling of the Divine Spirit. We seek together for that
strength which shall enable us to press forward more effectually
in the one great holy war. Verily we are members one of
another, members of the one true body of Christ, rejoicing in
Noth —Readers of the Recorder are reminded that the Editorial Board
assumes no responsibility for the views expressed by the writers of articles
published in these pages.
134
The Chinese Recorder
[February
the one great head, our L,ord Jesus Christ, in whom are hid all
the treasures of wisdom and strength that we alike need, and
the question arises in our hearts as to what more we can do to
make the blessed unity that exists, in spite of all difference of
opinion or diversity of organisation, more apparent to all, and
the more effectually to lead the world to believe that Christ is
truly the sent of God.
I. As a first step we must gain not only a clear vision of
our objective, but also a clear conception of the method by
which that objective is to be reached. We shall agree that our
objective is the gathering together into fellowship of all who
love and serve Christ, the gathering into one great union of all
the spiritual forces at present working in Christendom. Then
at once the question forces itself forward, Is this fellowship,
this union, to be realised in a great corporate reunion of
Christendom, or are we to seek it on a federal basis ? If we
decide that our hope lies in a corporate reunion, it will be
necessary for ns to consider whether there may be one church
to-day which occupies a position more truly central and more
truly scriptural than the rest, and having decided on the church
which is to have the central position to see what steps can be
taken to bring all other churches into organic relationship
with it by bringing all under the dominant principle of this
one church. It is unquestionable that spiritual union might
conceivably be achieved in this way, and it seems certain that
if it were once thus achieved the union would tend towards a
great uniformity. If, on the other hand, we decide that our
hope lies in a federal union, we shall need to study the whole
range of ecclesiastical organisations in which the life of Christ
is being revealed to this generation and through which the
Spirit of God manifestly works. We shall need then to group
these organisations as far as they may be grouped, to study the
New Testament principle to which each specially conforms and
then to recognise, within the one universal church, a brother¬
hood of churches, in which the Christian liberty of each shall
be secured ; the genuine equality of each in the presence of God
shall be recognised ; and between which a spirit of brotherly
fellowship may flourish. Within this fellowship no church
shall be called upon to give way to another by way of sub¬
jection, but each shall realise its duty while seeking to work
out its own divinely appointed destiny not to live unto itself,
but rather by love to serve every other church.
1910]
The Next Step in Church Unity
<35
I am convinced that it is only on the lines of federal union
that any substantial progress can be made. The spirit of the
Centenary Conference and the response that is being made to
its appeal for the formation of provincial councils show con*
clusively that federation on some such lines is both desirable
and possible. Our minds should be fully open to the possibility
of some closer union evolving in time, and should this be the
case we will not doubt that we shall be prepared for it and
rejoice in it. Still do not let us sacrifice the attainable for that
which God has not—at least for the present—placed within our
reach. On the federal basis it becomes the duty of each church
to guard faithfully that deposit of principle for which God has
made it a trustee and on that line to work out its full salvation ;
yet must it ever remember that it is but a part of a greater
whole and that the progress of the whole must be the concern
of each part.
While, however, we loyally guard those principles for which
God has made us severally responsible, let us see to it that we
are not wasting time and energy in guarding that which is no
longer a living issue. And let us not impose upon those who
come after us limitations that the New Testament itself does
not require. You remember that old Russian story, how
that a Czarina noticing a soldier always standing on watch in
the centre of a wide lawn raised the question as to what he was
stationed there for. The Czar could give no other explanation
than that for as long as he could remember there always had
been a soldier stationed there. Then search was made in the
military order books, and it was found that long ago a beauti¬
ful flower had sprung up in the centre of the lawn, and feariug
lest it should be trodden under foot the Czar of that day had
ordered a soldier to guard it. Day by day a man was placed
on duty, the flower died down, but the order was not removed
from the book, and hence, year by year, decade after decade, a
man was told off to keep a watch that had become meaningless.
I fear at times we are keeping watch by many a dead flower,
that we have out our sentinels on many an old battle field from
the site of which the battle has long rolled away never again
to return.
If my view of the situation is right, each separate church
or denomination of Evangelical Christendom has been raised
up by God to safeguard some special interest or some great
principle of Christian faith or Christian practice. Final truth
1)6
The Chinese Recorder
[February
is only reached through stress and storm, and in the centuries
that have gone by we find that a period of religious quickening
has often been accompanied or followed by a period of fierce
controversy, and in some cases a new denomination, or new
denominations have arisen. There was a providential need for
the commencement and growth of each denomination. May
there not, however, cornea time when there shall no longer be a
need for separate existence? A contention for which a few
men have banded themselves together to struggle, may come to
an end because the principle for which they strove has been
generally adopted by the Christian church, and once this has
been the case there is no longer necessity for keeping up this
particular denominational demarcation.
The history of the evangelical revival of the eighteenth
century, with the rise and development of the Methodist
movement, with the various denominations of Methodists that
from time to time arise—Primitive Methodists, United Free
Methodists, Bible Christians and others that for the assertion of
one principle or another differentiated themselves off from the
main Methodist church, but now tend more and more to
reunion with her—the history of all this movement, I say,
would give numerous examples of the point for which I am
contending. It is not easy to believe that the two great
evangelical hymns, “ Rock of Ages cleft for me ” and
“Jesus Lover of my Soul,” come to us from a time of fierce
controversy and that the men who wrote these hymns that are
now so wedded together took opposite sides in the controversy.
The issue that so filled their souls and that finally brought the
parties of Wesley and Whitefield into such violent theological
and then ecclesiastical opposition was a great and living issue.
We are not to condemn the men who strove as for their soul’s
salvation to maintain the truth of God that had been specially
impressed upon them. We are largely indebted to the stress
of that time for the fact that the whole evangelical church
does at this time hold so firmly alike to the truth that every
human being may be saved and to the complementary truth
of the divine sovereignty pervading every human life. No
small gain.
We recognise all that we owe to the fathers of that great
formative period, yet is it true that in some matters, notably
of trust deeds, they have involved their successors in grievous
difficulties. The trust deed of my own college is an iliuminat-
1910]
The Next Step in Church Unity
137
ing instance of this. The college was founded in the midst
of the Wesley-Whitefield controversy by the Countess of
Huntingdon!, who worked with Wkitefield. Fifteen articles,
strongly Calvinistic in tone, were drawn up, and it was provided
that every student and professor must subscribe to them. The
extreme Calvinism was early found to be a difficulty, but the
college went on with its work, sending Chalmers to Hongkong,
Muirhead to Shanghai, Gilmore to Mongolia, James Chalmers
to New Guinea, and many another missionary to the mission
field and minister to the home pulpit. Still, as time went
on, it was felt increasingly that the articles no longer accorded
with the general consciousness of the evangelical churches,
and first before the Board of Education and then before the
highest law courts, an attempt was made to secure modification.
The lawyers got to work, and soon brought to light certain
documents that had been lost in the archives of the college and
of which no man living had previous knowledge. One of
these ordained that each professsor in addition to signing
the articles, must on accepting office denounce Armiuiauism.
When finally the decision of the highest courts was given, it
was to the effect that the trust deed was absolutely binding, and
that no relief could be given by any court of law ; that the
students and professors must subscribe to the articles and that
professors must denounce Arminius and all liis teachings when¬
ever called upon to do so. Truly a pitiable plight! Happily
what the law courts could not do an Act of Parliament has
done, and the college goes on with its work, secured in its
evangelical position and yet fiee to -work in close fellowship
with other institutions and colleges and with a free and open
outlook towards the future.
The moral of all this is that as we have striven to free
ourselves from the dead hand of the past so we should exercise
care, lest we impose our limitations upon the Chinese church.
Let us fight bravely the battle to which the Lord has called
us, but let us not entail upon others issues which may ill
time to come cease to be living issues.
The present time will be looked back upon as a great
formative period in the history of the Chinese church, as of the
Chinese people. All over China churches are being organized,
institutions started, trust deeds drawn up, old creeds are
being translated or new ones formed. For weal or for woe
our actions to-day will mightily affect the future. God give
138
The Chinese Recorder
[February
us grace to plan wisely! If we are forming trust deeds let
them be of sucli a nature as will make it easy for the churches,
colleges or universities of the future to come into closer
fellowship than to-day exists with other communions. If we
are handing on creeds let them be those that reflect only that
which is scriptural, primitive and universal in our faith. As
far as in us lies, let us pass on that which unites evangelical
Christendom and not those things which divide it into rival
camps. It is the faith once delivered to the saints that must
overcome the world ; let it be ours to hand on this in its
simplicity. By doing so we shall be preparing the way for a
great drawing together of all sections of the church in the days
to come.
While, however, we strive to hand on the one faith do not
let us cramp ourselves in the matter of church organisation.
In Europe to-day we see among the evangelical churches five
predominant types of church government, viz., Episcopal,
Presbyterian, Congregational—dividing into two sections, Bap¬
tist and Paedo-baptist, and Methodist, which chiefly flourish
in Britain, and Eutheran and Reformed, -which chiefly flourish
on the continent. The same five types, with possibly some
modifications w r ould, I believe, account for the overwhelming
majority of the evangelical churches of America. Let us add
a sixth class to cover all that are not included in this classifica¬
tion. Now let us study the history of each group, of each
church, and we shall find that each has done a work for God
and for man that the others were not equally fitted to accom¬
plish. That to-day in each section there is a recognition of
trusteeship for some special principle, making for order in
some cases, for freedom in others. Every man may therefore
well be loyal to the church of which by God’s providence or
by special conviction he finds himself a member and yet
recognise the marks of grace in other churches. Long ago
John Ruskin charged us o remember that not all of God’s
truth lay under the shadow of the steeple of the church in which
we might severally worship, dear as that church might be to us.
A Presbyterian may be pardoned if he finds in the early
history of his church and in the zeal and sufferings of the
covenanting days his chief stimulus to fidelity to Christ to-day.
He may well thank God for his spiritual ancestry. Yet must
he be blind to the heavenly vision and deaf to all the higher
voices if he canuot see iu the Episcopal, Methodist, Congrega-
1910]
The Next Step in Church Unity
139
tioiial and other churches, evidences of that same divine power
and grace, adapted in its manifestations it may be to other
lands and other conditions. There are diversities of gifts, but
the same Spirit. And there are diversities of ministrations
but the same Lord ; and there are diversities of workings, but
the same God who worketh all things in all.
Now if my contention is right it means that no one
ecclesiastical organisation adequately represents the whole New
Testament conception of the universal church, but that when
all -work together in loving fellowship, maintaining the unity of
the spirit in the bond of peace, then there is scope for the
manifestation of the manifold wisdom of God in all its richness
and in all its fulness, then the greatest number of human
souls may be drawn within the influence of the church and
the full and effective evangelisation of the whole world be
brought nigh. That was a wise man who, speaking of the
reunion of Christendom and with reference to the various
churches now in existence, said : “What we want is not this
or that, but this and that.”
As students of philosophy we have early to learn that
truth is found not in a compromise between two apparently
opposed statements, but rather in a deeper unity that can
hold the apparent opposites together. And it may be that
as students of ecclesiastical systems we are to find that the
one true body of Christ is an organism more complex than
can be fully represented by any one Christian organization.
That it is so wide in its scope, so strong in its vitality
that it is able to express itself through many organisations,
that in the present stage of our development it can only
adequately express itself through many organisations—many
churches—finding a place for all, holding all together in
a deeper spiritual unity.
The Episcopalian, the Presbyterian, the Congregational,
the Baptist and Methodist Churches represent types, strong
types, types that have persisted long and are still full of vitality.
The oldest of these churches shows no sign of the decrepitude
of age. The youngest shows a power of conservation as well
as of aggressive energy that gives promise that, great as
have been the achievements of the past, the achievements
of the future shall be still greater. Each of these types
has become naturalised in China, and promises to persist
here as it has persisted in the west. * My concern is that
140
The Chinese Recorder
[February
each type shall have full scope for developing its own spiritual
genius in so far as that genius conforms to the law of Christ,
and yet that as wise master builders we should so draw type
into touch with type that a deep, rich, full spiritual union
shall be brought about which shall grow with the growth and
strengthen with the strength of the church of Christ in
China.
I have sometimes heard the suggestion made that all
the missions should be merged into one great undenominational
mission for the whole of China. It involves that the Baptists
compromise in one direction and the Paedo-baptists in another,
that the Episcopalian yields some cherished principle and the
Friend some other. I should personally view any such action
as fraught with one of the greatest calamities that could
well befall the Chinese church. Apart from the fact that
we can never build strongly if we build on a compromise of
principle, I would urge that if we are to give to China the
best that God has given us, we must—in their broad outlines—
give those systems of church government and systems of
organisation, which, by the teaching of the New Testament
or under the providential guidance of God, have come to
us and have proved so great a blessing to us in the homelands.
The bitterness of controversy that may have sprung up in
connection with these systems is no part of the system, and
must be avoided. We must leave behind the bitterness, but the
solid results for good we should pass on. Let us look at
this question from two points of view. (i). The work of
the strongest and most effective missionaries that we have
known. (2). The blessings to be found in linking the
churches in China with those in the homelands with which
they have closest affinity.
1. I do not know what the general experience is, but
personally I have found that the missionaries who are most
Christlike in their affection, and most Catholic in their outlook,
are most often strong denominationalists also. Take two or
three of the outstanding names in Central China. There was
David Hill, a man who kept in touch with the whole church
of Christ, and his friendships were as deep as they were far
reaching. He seemed to find his way as by a natural instinct
to the spiritual centre of a fellow-Christian’s nature, let
him belong to what church he might. Roman, Anglican,
Protestant, his heart went out to all. He seemed to have
1910]
The Next Step in Church Unity
141
an affinity for all. Yet David Hill was a strong Methodist.
To do his best work he was bound to work on Methodist
lines. He rejoiced in the work of the Evaugelical Alliance,
he laboured for the Central China Religious Tract Society,
he was the friend of every undenominational and interdenomi¬
national effort, yet the church that he laboured to build
up was on Methodist lines, and the sum total of the best
work of his life was all bound up with the Methodism that
was so dear to him. And I think we all loved him the
more for it. Then again we had Bishop Ingle. A man
of more massive sincerity I never knew, and his influence
on the Central China Mission was strong and deep. Alike
in the common worship here in Killing and in our monthly
prayer meetings at Hankow, he loved to join. He deeply
valued the prayer of the united Christian body and desired
both to join in those prayers and to receive the benefit that he
realised resulted from them. He looked sympathetically upon
the whole work, and I believe as truly loved, as he was beloved
by, every member of the Central China missionary community.
Yet Bishop Ingle was an Anglican through and through and
could not have done his best work on any other than Anglican
lines. May I refer for a moment to the beloved leader for fifty
years or more of our London Mission, Griffith John ? It was his
joy to be of assistance to any mission. In the earliest days at
Hankow he started the English liturgical service, which he
gladly handed over to an episcopal clergyman as soon as the
community was able to arrange for bis support. He rejoiced
to transfer his first convert at Hankow to the Wesleyan Mission
to be trained as an evangelist when the Wesleyan Mission was
started in Hankow, and this man, Mr. Chu, was subsequently
ordained as the first Methodist pastor in Hankow. Yet it
is absolutely certain that Griffith John could not have done his
life work on either Anglican or Methodist lines. He felt
at home in the somewhat modified Congregationalism that
is typical of the work of the London Missionary Society,
and I do not think he could have done equally good work
under any other system.
The whole Central China work is the stronger and richer
to-day because of the influence of men so diverse and yet so
like-minded who have spent their lives in it. God fulfils Him¬
self in many ways, and then is His work the fullest revelation
of Himself when through many personalities and many systems
142 The Chinese Recorder [February
He can show forth His manifold wisdom, which yet all centres
in the one divine personality of onr Lord Jesus Christ.
1 might also refer to our Presbyterian brethren in other
parts of China. They have not shunned to declare the whole
counsel of God ; they have been prominent in every good work,
but all the same they have built up their churches in accord¬
ance with the Presbyterian polity, and by common consent these
Presbyterian churches are among the strongest in China today.
There seems to be a sense of breadth about the sentiment
we sometimes hear : “Let the Chinese evolve their own church
government ; why should we trouble them with ours ? ” I do
not doubt that the Chinese will ultimately develop their own
church organisation, as they will develop their own scheme of
Christian civilisation, but the final result will be reached more
easily and will be vastly more satisfactory if in the matter of
civilisation and of church organisation we first give them the
principles which through long ages have approved themselves
in the West and are the best that we know.
2 . In the second place, consider the gain alike to the
churches in China and to the churches in the home lands that
will come from linking the churches of the same order in world¬
wide federation. As travel becomes easy and communication
rapid we see increasingly a tendency for churches to gather not
iu national but in world-wide conferences. During the past
few years we have had the Pan-Anglican Conference, the Pan-
Presbyterian Congress, the Pan-Congregational Congress, the
Methodist Ecumenical Council and other similar gatherings.
In each, China has been represented, but in the main only by
the missionary. May we not hope that in the near future the
Chinese churches may be directly represented by delegates of
their own nationality and appointment ? These men will then
take their place on terms of equality among the representatives
of the different churches in all these great gatherings. It will
be to the mutual benefit of the Chinese and the home churches
when such thorough-going organisation and representation can
be effected. The best life that ebbs and flows through our
Western Christianity will then permeate the Chinese churches.
Our Chinese brethren returning from such conferences will come
back with vastly enlarged conceptions of what Christianity
can do for a people and for the church at large. They will
gain, too, a confidence in their standing that perhaps nothing
else can give them. We desire that as soon as possible the
143
1910] The Next Step in Church Unity
Chinese church should become self-supporting and self-govern¬
ing. It will save the young churches from many a false
doctrine and many an error in conduct if they can be so
connected with churches of like affinity in the West as will
both aid their stability and give to the younger churches
the benefit of the accumulated wisdom that experience lias
taught the older.
It may be objected that such denominational gatherings
tend towards exclusiveness and spiritual pride. I believe that
the exact opposite is the truth. There may be some self-
gratulation at the commencement, but I tliiuk it is always the
case that as the days of meeting proceed there comes a deep
consciousness that those gathered together are, after all, only a
part of a larger whole and that it is the duty of the part to
serve the whole of the denomination, to serve the whole uni¬
versal church of God’s elect. In these great denominational
gatherings we realise that we each form one of the several
buildings that are built upon the foundation of the apostles and
the prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the chief corner stone ;
but if we realise this, so also do we realise that each several
building only fulfils its function when, fitly framed together
with the other like buildings, the whole groweth into a holy
temple in the Lord.
I may be asked whether my view of federation includes
the possibility of the Roman Catholic church joining in this
intercommunion. I reply : that my paper is concerned with
THE NEXT STEP in church union and that any form of
intercommunion with the Roman church must at least be
regarded as remote. As I conceive the situation, unless the
Roman church passes through the regenerative fires of a new
reformation, such as may bring her back to the simplicity of
the New Testament, intercommunion is out of the question.
While, however, I feel bound to say this, I note with thankfulness
an increasing tendency for the members of the Anglican, the
Free churches and the Roman church to cooperate in certain
religious or philanthropic enterprises.
When I was in England two years ago all the churches
were lamenting the growing disregard of Sunday as a day of
rest and worship. And I was glad to see that in certain towns
meetings -were being arranged at which the Anglican vicar,
the Roman Catholic priest, Father Bernard Vaughn, and the
president of the Free Church Council, the Rev. Scott Lidgett,
The Chinese Recorder
144
[February
stood on the same platform to advocate a truer observance of
the Lord’s day.
Again, for some two years past the editors of the yellow
press in England, and I fear some men of like mind in Ger¬
many, have been striving to sow seeds of ill will and to stir up
the war spirit between these two sister nations. Twelve
months ago, at the invitation of the London Federation of Free
Churches, acting together with representatives of the Anglican
and Roman Communions, a number of German pastors of
different churches visited England. Recent papers have told
us of the return visit of English ministers to Germany, and we
have been interested to see that among the one hundred and
ten outstanding Christian men who travelled by the yacht
Meteor were to be found Roman Catholic Monsignors and
Non-conformist pastors, Anglican Bishops and Quaker philan¬
thropists, all travelling together in good fellowship, convinced
that by fraternising with their German confreres an entente
cordiale might be fostered and a practical demonstration be
given to the truth that the churches have power to influence
international relationship in the direction of righteousness and
peace if only they will speak with one voice and act as one man.
We recognise all such beneficent and united action, but are
still convinced that as things stand to-day federation with
Rome is neither possible nor desirable. What is feasible
and what in a hundred ways God by His divine Spirit is
pressing upon us, is such a spiritual federation of the Anglican,
the Lutheran and all other evangelical churches as may
make it possible to demonstrate the essential oneness of the
common faith by the strength of mutual affection and united
action. This I take it must be the next step ill the direction
of church unity. Towards it let us bend our most earnest
and broad-minded efforts, and for it let our most earnest
prayers arise. At the Lambeth Conference and subsequently
at Shanghai the Anglican Bishops not only expressed full
sympathy with all efforts tending towards church unity,
hut also made known their thorough-going determination to
forward union by mutual conferences with other Christian
bodies, or in such ways as might be possible. For this
frank approach on the part of the Bishops those of us
who view the question from the non-Anglican side owe
grateful acknowledgment. But the anxious question at once
confronts us, Is the acceptance of the historic episcopate
1910] The Next Step in Church Unity 145
as a binding principle within and upon all the churches
to continue a condition sine qua non for such spiritual federa¬
tion and intercommunion ?
We must admit that there are grave difficulties in finding
a solution at this point, alike from the side of the Anglican
and from the side of the Free-churcliman. To many an
Anglican it appears that all ordination not derived through
the historic episcopate is irregular if not ineffective. The
outlook of the free churches is very different, and I want
as simply as I can to show how the question appears from
their point of view. It is not altogether easy to do this,
for the free churches are many in number and differences
of opinion on many points undoubtedly exist between them.
In the main, however, I think their general position may
be stated somewhat as follows :—
a. The free churches do believe in an apostolic ministry.
They see that in various communions men of apostolic faith
and purity of life, set apart for the ministry of the word,
are striving as the apostles strove for the bringing in of the
kingdom of Christ, and these men seem to them to be in
a true apostolic succession.
The free churches believe in ecclesiastical continuity, but
it is the continuity of the living and abiding society which is
the one universal church, the mystical body of Christ, iu
which all who are united by faith to Christ have their place as
members, and through which the grace of God is revealed to
the world. Of this society, presbyters, presiding presbyters or
bishops, and deacons are the officers, the servants or ministers—
those through whom the chief ministry of the church is made
effective. They believe that the whole church is an inspired
community, that to-day as in Antioch the divine life is
working and that, as moved by the Holy Ghost, the pro¬
phets and teachers with prayer and fasting laid their hands
upon Saul and Barnabas and sent them forth to the ministry
of the word, so to-day may the ministers, the prophets and
teachers of our modern church, ordain in the name of the
church, and for the church, those who have already received
the inward call and have shown proof of possessing the grace
of ministering.
b. The theory of the historic episcopate as a link with
the apostles, continuous through all the centuries, does not
commend itself to the hearts and minds of the great mass of
146
The Chinese Recorder
[February
the free churchmen in such a way as to produce conviction.
In the first place the historic proof of such continuity seems
lacking. The fact that the earliest records only trace the
succession to the sub-apostolic age and there leave it, seems to
indicate that it was rather after the death of the apostles than
during their life time that the system was evolved. But even
could a connecting link be established, it would still seem to be
a mechanical limitation of the free grace of God, to confine the
authority to ordain to a close succession of men, for while
very many in the succession have manifested the ripest fruits
of faith, spirituality and devotion, of others it is possible to
doubt whether they could in any true sense be said to be in
fellowship with Christ.
c. By how much the historic episcopate is made the basis
of the sacerdotal nature of the ministry, by so much must the
overwhelming majority of free churchmen feel the more
unable to accept it. The priesthood of all believers in the
sense that they are called to make prayers and supplications
for all men, is fully recognised. The eternal high priesthood
of our Lord Jesus Christ is the central thought of all their
thinking, but they fail to find in the New Testament that any
special sacerdotal authority is entrusted to the ministers of the
church.
Now I have endeavoured to state as briefly as possible
what I believe to be the crux of the whole situation. If I have
stated the free church position more fully than the Anglican
I trust at least that neither is stated unfairly. We shall, I
believe, all assent to the proposition that no lasting union can
be built upon an agreement which in itself involves any com¬
promise of principle ; that the acceptance of the historic
episcopate, unless it came from a deep spiritual conviction
would, in the long run, profit us nothing. Indeed such accept¬
ance might, in course of time, make a larger rent in the seamless
garment than any that are now there. In his most interesting
article in the Outlook twelve months ago Dr. Newman Smyth
maintained that a large number of Congregational ministers
might, without much difficulty, be brought to accept the
historic episcopate, and apparently he himself would look with
sympathy upon such a movement. By the new light that he
has thrown upon old faith, and by his exposition of the
religious feeling, Dr. Smyth has laid us all under deep obliga¬
tion, but in this article in the Outlook I find myself unable to
The Next Step in Church Unity
147
191o]
follow him. Even were sncli a movement as lie suggests to
take place in the Congregational churches, I can but fear that
the sequence of events would be as tollovvs :—
First. Those congregationalists who had accepted the
historic episcopate would feel, to some extent, separated from
their colleagues who had not taken the step. They would also
feel that they -were more or less in an outer court of the
Episcopal church.
Second. They would take a farther step and become
thoroughgoing Episcopalians, with the result that while
numerical gain might accrue to the Episcopal church a great
deal of bitterness would also be engendered, which would put
off indefinitely the day of final reunion and greatly increase
the difficulty of fellowship between those within and those
outside the Anglican church. The conviction on either side
is, I well know, intense. Some time ago there came to my
hands two sermons preached in London. One was by a canon
of St. Paul’s, preached in the Cathedral and maintaining witli
much scholarship and eloquence that the church of England,
in doctrine and organisation, represented exactly the faith and
order bequeathed by Christ to the apostles and handed 011 by
them to their successors.
The other was by a leading Congregational minister,
maintaining, with, I think, equal scholarship and earnestness
that the Congregational polity alone represented the churches
of apostolic days and that every departure therefrom involved
a departure from primitive simplicity.
We might smile at the situation -were not the matter one
of such tremendous import I quote the incident to show that
if we are to find a basis of union it must he one that is not
bound up with Episcopal, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational
or Methodist polity ; but it must be one that shall go deeper
than all and embrace all. “ Where Christ is there is the
church,” said St. Ignatius, and his words give us the clue for
the basis of union. Those who acknowledge the true deity of
Jesus Christ and call Him Lord, those in whose assemblies
His presence is manifested, all these must, on a common basis
of oneness in Christ, be drawn into a common fellowship.
“Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in
uncorruptness” were the apostle’s last words to the Ephesian
church, and in them we have the one sound basis upon which
we can work for church union.
148
The Chinese Recorder
[February
Some such statement with reference to our common belief,
as was adopted by the Centenary Conference at Shanghai,
should be heartily accepted by all the churches entering into
the federation, and there should be no difficulty in arranging
that in the administration of baptism and the holy communion
the very words of Scripture should be used. Indeed, as far as I
know, it is already the custom of the free churches to do this.
While, however, such agreement may prepare the way, may
develop the atmosphere which should make it easy for true
church union to take place, effective union will only come
from a drawing together ill living fellowship of all who love
Christ, and for this we should prayerfully and systematically
seek with all our powers. With a view to this I make the
following suggestions :—
First. Let those of us who desire to bring about this
church union pray regularly, not only for our own missions,
but also for all missions in our neighbourhood, by name. If
criticism at any time seems necessary, let it be given and
received with frank brotherliness, and let us see to it that not
only our words about one another’s work, but also our thoughts
are kindly. We live among a people who attach more import¬
ance to hints and facial expression than to formal statements.
We may make any number of fraternal speeches, but the Chi-
nese will read our hearts, and unless as missionaries of different
societies we are at heart loyal to one another, we can do
nothing to draw the Chinese Christians into mutual fellowship.
Second. Let us do our utmost to coordinate the educa¬
tional work in each province. At Hankow we are getting to
work upon a scheme which aims at coordinating the educa¬
tional work of the missions in primary, intermediate and
secondary schools ; and also in the first two years of college
life ; the scheme also providing for inter-mission examina¬
tions. By this means we trust that the boys in all our schools
will realise how truly the missions form one great agency.
We trust that in time Christian universities may be established
in different parts of China, in which the work of all the
mission schools may find its completion and crown. In such a
university each interested mission should maintain its hostel,
so that it may keep in religious touch with its students and
provide for their spiritual instruction.
Third. Let us do our utmost to support the federation
movement and let us strenuously avoid proselytising and over-
1910]
149
The Next Step in Church Unity
lapping. It is detrimental to all our work to have two
churches in one small market town, or to work in any way
that suggests rivalry between two missions. Would it not be
prudent to say that in the country we will never open a new
chapel within five li of the chapel of another mission, and
that we will never receive a member of another mission into
our church without a letter of introduction from the pastor of
the church he leaves ?
Fourth. Let us do our utmost to support all united
prayer meetings, whether for missionaries or the Chinese
Church. Let us encourage the Chinese pastors and evangel¬
ists of different missions to hold a monthly meeting for prayer
and consultation. In these gatherings let them work out their
own solutions to their own problems without the hampering
presence of the foreign missionary. Where this custom has
been established its influence has been most admirable, both
as inducing right feeling between the churches and as provid¬
ing a ready means for adjusting inter-mission difficulties and
so promoting union.
Fifth. Let us arrange for occasional united services for
worship and preaching, in which the arrangement shall be
such as to make it clear to all that every mission has an equal
interest, and that all are acting with one common motive to
accentuate our unity before men and offer our common prayer
and praise to God.
Sixth. Wherever it is possible let us arrauge annually
for a united communion service. What better conclusion than
this could we have for the series of prayer meetings during the
first week of January that are so generally held throughout
China. Where for any cause there are dificulties in the way
of holding such services let us seek to get these difficulties
removed.
When we can meet as brothers: one in the school and
university, one in the prayer meeting, one in the services of
God’s house, and one at the table of the Lord, we shall prove
our essential unity in spite of all diversity. We shall teach
our Chinese brethren to love one another in sincerity, and the
way will be prepared for that fuller manifestation of God’s
presence that comes when all His people are of one mind in one
place.
These suggestions are simple ; they are practical. We
wonder why in every place they are not already in operation.
150
The Chinese Recorder
[February
Could we with heart and soul put them into operation a new
day would dawn on missions in China, and the welding toge¬
ther of the churches of this land would largely influence the
churches of the homelands in the direction of reunion.
You and I who are gathered here can perhaps do more
towards reuniting Christendom than is apparent to-day. Ku-
ling is getting to have a spiritual significance to many of us
because of the fellowship that it makes possible between the
Christians of many lands and many churches. We have learnt
here to esteem one another very highly in love for the work’s
sake. In common worship we have come to know our essential
unity. During this very week we have been gathering together
under the presidency of a greatly beloved bishop of the Amer¬
ican Church while we have been listening to the inspiring
teaching of an English Free Churchman. From the day of the
opening of the old Killing church our motto has been :—
ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS,
and if we can carry the spirit of that motto into the practical
work of all our missions, the question of church union will be
on a fair way to solution.
The Problem of Church Unity in China
BY RT. REV. BISHOP F. R. GRAVES
T HE subject of church unity is one which is beset by so
many prejudices and beclouded by so many controversies
that it is extremely difficult to write about it so as
to be clearly understood and yet to avoid wounding feelings
which are associated with the most sacred convictions which
men hold. I do not pretend that I can treat of it adequately,
nor to offer any final solution. Indeed I am so strongly im¬
pressed by these considerations that I should never have offered
to write of my own motion and if I had not been assured that
it might be of some use. Controversy is idle and harmful and
something for which there is no space in the face of our press¬
ing work in the mission field. And yet it is useless to say
anything unless it has a direct bearing on what may be done
to bring about union. Nothing is to be gained by repeating
platitudes and vague expressions of our mutual oneness and
1910]
The Problem of Church Unity in China
151
the Christian love we bear one another. The fact is that we
are outwardly divided, sometimes openly antogouistic, and
what we have to find out is the way in which division may be
done away. It is of no use repeating phrases about unity
while we refuse to take thought and exert ourselves to attain
it. It is true we may never be able to solve the problem,
but we can at least do a little to make its conditions plainer
and to clear away some preliminary obstacles. Of course in
the brief compass of this paper all one can hope to do is to
state what is the present position of things and indicate some
directions in which our efforts are likely to bear fruit.
There was a time, not so long ago, when church unity
was but the pious aspiration of a few. Men were contented
with separation and competition, and viewed the spectacle of
the divisions of Christianity without realising the evil and
sin of them and without being stirred to bring them to an end.
Happily, at the present time, the evils of division are acknowl¬
edged and deplored and men have gone back for inspiration
to the prayer of our Lord that all may be one. Of course there
has always been a large amount of unity of heart amongst those
who held so much in common, but the necessity for translating
that disposition into practical terms, for exhibiting outwardly
the unity we feel inwardly, is only just beginning to come
home to the mass of Christians.
If we are to describe the state of things in China to-day
it will be something like this: Christian missions from all the
great countries of the world are working here each on its own
lines and each perpetuating its own ecclesiastical character.
There is the great mass of the Roman Catholics separated from
the Protestant churches by what appears to be an impassable
gulf; the Greek church, a small mission, but the representative
of a vast body of Christians in Europe and Western Asia,
which is separated from Roman Catholics and Protestants
alike ; the Protestant missions sent out by the churches which
arose at the time of the reformation or have sprung from
those bodies since; and the Anglican Communion, which is
historically Catholic and at the same time reformed. All
these bodies are separate and not in communion with one
another.
Erom this state of division all sorts of evils have arisen,
rivalry and competition, needless reduplication of churches and
institutions, jealousy and misunderstanding, and as the gross
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The Chinese Recorder
[February
result of all a divided witness for Christ and a weakened in¬
fluence for Christian life and morality in the face of the heathen
yvorld. One knows that these evils are tempered by the exer¬
cise of common sense and Christian feeling, but they exist
nevertheless.
Now we feel these evils more acutely in the mission field
because we see so clearly the necessity of this united
witness, and we are likewise inclined to seek for more
of union, for we are driven here to deal with essentials and
to disregard matters of secondary importance, and are drawn
closer together by a sense of a common cause and common
effort no less than by the pressure of surrounding heathenism.
It is well recognised in the home lands that, in this matter
of unity, missions must furnish, if not the solution, certainly
the impulse to grapple with the problem and the spirit of love
and sacrifice in which it must be solved. Thus in a sermon
preached in Westminster Abbey on St. Andrew’s Day (Novem¬
ber 30 ), at the consecration of two bishops for Japan and
of the bishop for the new see of Kwangsi and Hunan, the Dean
of Westminster spoke as follows :—
“If the Church of England is set, as we believe, in the middle
place, holding tenaciously to the immemorial creeds and customs
of the Catholic past, and yet claiming and appropriating the fresh
light and new lessons that come with the progressive ripening of
the human mind ; if our position in God’s time may prove to be
a mediating one in the Western world, then you may face your
problems with an eager hope. Nay, more—and I say it advisedly
•—it probably rests with you and your brethren in these two great
mission-fields to take steps in advance towards the Christian unity
of the future which seem wholly impracticable to our stereotyped
divisions at home. The imperative requirements of native con¬
verts, the necessity of shaping truly native churches, the brother¬
liness of missionaries who are serving the same Master with the
same spirit under the same difficulties, the repeated suggestions
of combined effort in regard to medicine and higher education,—all
these things force the pace and offer an opportunity to a Christian
statesmanship.”
Surely if the churches which sent us out are looking to
their missions to contribute their part to bring in this great
consummation we in the field must not be found wanting nor
disappoint so great a hope.
And now to turn to what has been done and to what
remains to be accomplished. It is unquestionable that the
Shanghai Centenary Conference did a great deal to promote the
153
1910] The Problem of Church Unity in China
spirit of unity and set in motion influences that have been felt
at home. Out of it have sprung many experiments in prac¬
tical cooperation, as in medical and educational work, which
appear to be working successfully.
The conference tried to attain its broad and high concep¬
tion of unity by two paths. It appointed a Committee on
Federation and a Committee on Church Union.
The first committee has succeeded, to a certain extent, in
federating missions in different parts of China by a system of
representation. It is probably too soon to say what the result
will be. For myself it has seemed to me that it was an at¬
tempt to accomplish by the creation of a machinery of repre¬
sentative councils, provincial and so on, a union which could
have no real basis, which was, so to speak, in the nature of a
truce and not of a peace. If one is impatient of delay and
eager for visible results, federation promises a short road to
the desired end, but it ignores differences which must ultimately
assert themselves. Behind any such expedient always lies the
greater and more difficult question of church unity, the real
and vital question which w r e must answer soon or late, and all
attempts to put it aside and accept some substitute are sure to
fail. I believe that the longer and more difficult patli through
the work of the Committee on Church Union is the safer and
surer.
It is well at this point to ask ourselves what we mean
when we speak of church unity in China. Are not most
missionaries thinking of a union of Protestant missions? As
one reads much that is written on the subject this seems to be
the underlying assumption. It was not ignored in the con¬
ference, however, that we have to face a far larger and graver
question. Unless church union can embrace all Christians
in China, Catholic and Protestant, the problem will be nearly
as far from solution as ever. One sees sometimes an uncharit¬
able map which professes to be a map of the world’s religions,
with black for the heathen, dark grey for the Catholics and
white for the Protestants. That is an image of which we
have to rid our minds. We have to remember that Christian¬
ity is a greater thing than Protestantism and to widen our
minds and hearts to entertain the conception of a unity which
shall embrace all. We have to confess that the practical
difficulties are at present insurmountable. But yet we must
recall our minds to the fact that church unity, with the
154
The Chinese Recorder
[February
majority of Christians left out, would be no solution of the
problem. But if the difficulties are insurmountable now they
may not be so forever. What we have to see to is that in
our efforts at partial reunion we do not erect additional barriers
against the larger unity for which we hope and pray.
From these general considerations let us turn to consider
how things stand in relation to church unity between the
various missions in China. Though we can thankfully say
that there is a real desire for unity we must frankly confess
that the efforts of the Committee on Church Union have had
little or no visible result. The same is true of the Committee
on Unity appointed in 1907 by the Conference of the Anglican
Communion. That committee addressed a brotherly letter to
all missionaries, but in the three years that have intervened no
response has been received. The fact that these two com¬
mittees which exist for the promotion of church unity receive
no response sufficiently indicates that the time is not ripe for
any movement in that direction. But it would ill become us
to cease our efforts. We can all do a great deal by preparing
the way for such a movement in the future.
1 . By prayer for the unity of the church.
2 . By such mutual cooperation as is possible on common
ground and for common objects.
3 . By informal meetings where such explanations of our
respective positions might be made as would clear away the
misunderstandings which now obscure the true issues.
4 . By putting practices which are of secondary import¬
ance and mere theological opinions into a subordinate place
and concentrating attention upon the essentials in doctrine
and practice. In this way documents like the XXXIX
Articles or the Westminster Confession would take their proper
place as subordinate to the statement of belief in the facts of
Christianity as contained, for instance, in the Nicene and
Apostles’ Creeds. Men can never unite on the ground of
theological opinion, but there is no reason why they should not
unite upon a confession of belief in the great facts which are
the foundation of Christianity.
5 . We must learn to know that union will have to take
place by inclusion and not by exclusion. That it will never
be reached, that is, by stripping away all to which anyone may
have an objection, but by recognising that each is to contribute
the best he has to the final result.
1910 ] What Federation Can Accomplish for the Chinese Church 155
6. We must keep the ideal before us, distant as its realisa¬
tion may seem to be, and learn to prepare for it by greater
personal devotion. It is only as each one of us is united to
God by union with His Son that we can ever hope to over¬
come the many obstacles that divide us and attain to union
in the one Body, the reunited church of Christ.
What Federation Can Accomplish for the
Chinese Church
BY CHENG CHING-YI, L. M. S., PEKING
T HE day is excellent! sunny, bright, and warm ! As I
stood on the hill-side, where I and a great many
others encamped, I looked down upon the small town at
the foot of the hill a little way off, at the mass of trees, at the
one-storied cottages, aud the conspicuous spire of the parish
church, which were all within sight. It was a typical view of
the English country. So picturesque ! Now the hour of
meeting has arrived, and with others I marched down the hill
towards the meeting place somewhere in the little town. After
one turning or two I entered a street in front of the other end
of which a large tent was within sight. Many people were
gathered from all directions into this tent—people of different
conditions and nationalities—this formed the natural indication
that here was the meeting-place I wanted. On entering into
the tent something seized one’s attention. Above the doorway
there hang these words in red and white :
“ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS.”
What an inspiration ! Any one who attends the Keswick
Convention cannot fail to be attracted by these beautiful words.
As a foreigner in a foreign country they seemed especially
comforting and delightful. I do not think I can recollect now
the helpful and eloquent addresses I heard in that tent, but
this grand text has ever been a comfort in my soul aud con¬
stantly before my mind’s eyes: “ All one in Christ Jesus.”
I count one of the most gracious blessings that God lias
bestowed upon the church in China during recent years to be
the spirit of unity. It would be an exaggeration to say that
156
The Chinese Recorder
[February
in this matter the church has reached her lofty ideal, and
that she is on the mountain-top, but I do say that she is going
onward and upward towards that ideal. God grant that the
day is not far 'off when we shall taste and enjoy the loveliness
and beauty of it in a much fuller measure. The more we are
united with Christ, the more we are united with one another.
Unity is power and is strength ; it is born of God and not
created by man.
The federation movement has been for some years mani¬
festing its activity in several ways in this part of the empire.
The work which has already been achieved is of great advantage
to the Christian cause in China at large and in the north in
particular. The settlement of the term question, the publica¬
tion of the union hymn book, the unifying of the titles of
different missions for Fu Yin Tang, and the establishment of
several union colleges, all of these have done, in a large
measure, great service of unity amongst God’s people in this
land. For all this God be praised !
Well I remember while in Uondon some years ago au
English friend brought to me, for the first time, the good news
of unifying the different terms for the titles of God and Holy
Spirit which unhappily hitherto had been adopted by various
missions in China, and my friend wished to know my opinion
on the subject as to which is the better one to use, Shang Ti or
Ti‘en Chu, Sheng Ling or Sheng Shell. But I, in my peculiar
delight, replied something to this effect: “ Any of these titles
will be quite good aud suitable, as long as such a harmony
will be made!” I have reasons to believe that that reply
expressed the feelings and attitude of not a few of my Chinese
fellow-Christians.
In preparing this paper I went to see a Chinese pastor in
this city who was present at the Pei Tai Ho Conference, and
hoped to get some information from him, as I was not at home
when that conference was held. When the subject of federa¬
tion was mentioned to him, the good pastor’s face bright¬
ened up with delight, and he earnestly said to me that he
thought never before had the church enjoyed such a good
spirit of unity ; it was heavenly and it was divine ! With
reference to the Pei Tai Ho Conference the pastor thought
that although the Chinese workers did not take any large part
in it, all the changes and proposals were heartily welcomed
and appreciated by them. Later on the pastor himself arrang-
1910] What Federation Can Accomplish for the Chinese Church 157
ed a large meeting in the Chinese New Year, when Christians
of all denominations and even of other sects were gathered
together in wishing each other “A Happy New Year.” They
spoke, they sang, and they greeted one another in a most
friendly way such as never happened before in this part of the
world. This clearly shows that the Chinese people appreciate
very highly Christian federation and unity ; such a spirit suits
very well with the disposition of the people too. Unity and
harmony is one of China’s fine qualities notwithstanding she is
far from being perfect in many other ways.
So much has been done towards federation one cannot
help feeling happy and grateful, but there seems to be more
room for further development and reform. I would like, if
I am permitted, to build my castles in the air and dream my
midnight dreams. It is a grave problem to deal with, but its
importance and necessity excel its greatness. One would like
to see in the near future a large organization of a union
Chinese church where denominatioualism will be out of the
question. While making suggestion one is aware that deno-
miuatioualism has, in the past, its historical value and worth,
and many who are under their denominations are there not
merely because they are born into them, but because they have
great admiration for the fathers who were the founders of these
denominations. But for all that we have to consider the time
in which we are working, and the people with whom we
labour. In this particular matter we are to look ahead and
not behind. Confucius is said to be a saint who acted in
accordance with his time. We are not going to convert the
world into a world of Methodism or Anglicanism, or any other
“isms,” but the Lord Jesus Christ is the one and only ideal
for the world. Permit me to write a little fuller on the im¬
portance and necessity of such a union.
All who are working for Christ in China are conscious of
the mighty mass of heathendom around them. Indeed we can¬
not afford to engage ourselves in those really minor and in¬
significant differences. On the other hand we feel that if the
church of Christ is to win the mass of men who are in dark¬
ness, for Him, it must be by no mere statement, even of the
truest formulae; it must be by the life of Christ manifest in His
disciples, and that that manifestation is impossible in the
absence of love. The consciousness of goodness is in itself
of unity, and of evil in itself of division ; and here antagonism
158
The Chinese Recorder
[February
is growing and will grow, and I believe that the forces which
contribute to its growth lie a great deal in the surroundings.
Speaking generally, the Chinese Christians take little or
no interest in denomiuationalism. Very few of them know the
historical origin of even their own particular denomination,
still less do they feel the force of it. They belong to certain
denominations just because they were so led to Christianity.
This may be said to be one of the reasons why federation move¬
ments have found their way so readily and heartily in the
hearts of the followers of Christ in China.
Denomiuationalism has a peculiar, and often misleading,
idea in this country. Three men are here; one says that he
belongs to the P. M., the other to the C. I. M. and the third
to the D. M. S. But as a matter of fact two of the three are
really undenominational organizations !
Perhaps the most important problem in mission work in
China to-day is the problem of the self-supporting and self-
governing Chinese church. Protestant missions have been in
China more than a century now, and it is time for the Chinese
Christians to show their interest in, and activities for, the
Christian cause in a practical way. So now is the time of the
beginning of the Chinese church. I now ask along what line
will the missions lead the Chinese Christians to the realization
of their own responsibility as well as privilege? Are the
missions going to form a kind of Chinese Congregationalism,
Chinese Presbyterianism and all the rest ? Surely a union
Chinese church, without regard to any denomination, is the
right direction to aim at.
As denominationalism has its deep root in the Christian
countries in the West, humanly speaking, it is well-nigh to
impossible to remove it and make it in those countries a united
force of harmony after such a long period. In China the
difficulty is lessened by the facts that, firstly, the church in
China is comparatively young, and, secondly, denominational
differences are not generally thought much of. Therefore now
is the time to let the future Chinese church be well grounded
and founded on a solid basis, viz., a union church.
It means difficulty and perhaps sacrifice on the part of the
various missions. But nevertheless it is worth while. The
sacrifice, if one may use such a great word, is comparatively a
small thing when we think of the welfare and gain of the
Chinese church, for after all it is the Chinese church zee should
1910] What Federation Can Accomplish for the Chinese Church 1 59
be working for, and not our denominations or missions. So any¬
thing for the good of the church should be sought and worked
through even with cost if need be. Sometimes we need to go
up with our Divine Master to the Mount of Olives, where we
can obtain a larger view of the world’s need.
To show my narrowness of mind and ignorance I confess
I used to hold very poor ideas about men of other denomina¬
tions, especially those of the Church of England. To-day some
of my best friends are churchmen ! I owe this change to the
fact that I was sent to an undenominational college to study,
where Christian federation and unity was manifested in actual
practice. I believe that some such like testimonies could be
given by some of the students in our union colleges in North
China, whose views have been widened by being mixed with
men of all denominations. I wish, from the depth of my
heart, to re-echo those words of the Psalmist of old, “ Behold,
how pleasant and how good it is for brethren to dwell together
in unity!” On the tombstone of the Bishop of St. Andrews
there are these words : “ Remembering the prayer of his Divine
Lord and Master for the unity of the church, lie prayed
continually and laboured earnestly that a way may be found
in God’s good time for the reunion of the Episcopalian and
Presbyterian bodies, without the sacrifice of apostolic princi¬
ples or scriptural truth.” What a large heart the good
bishop had !
Unity should always work from within and not from with¬
out—from the church to the world, 'l'he diversities of forms,
of rites, of opinions, of the various denominations, real as they
are, sink into insignificance when compared with the solid
unity of Christian love. May that love manifest itself brighter
and brighter as the days go by, so that ail the churches shall
Ire bound up in oneness of harmony, and that unity will Ire the
motto for all. Such majestic unity shall be a blessing here in
its time and unspeakably precious for the world’s good, and it
shall be transfigured at last into the unity and alliance of the
Home above, where all the faces look one way, concentred
upon the great white throne and the One who sits upon it.
Then there is another matter not less in importance which
I will merely mention in a few words at present; this is the need
of a closer relationship and more united spirit in words and
deeds between Christians of the blast and those of the West.
Heart to heart, hand in hand, shall we work together for
160
The Chinese Recorder
[February
Christ and for men, and the racial distinction will he out of
place in the Christian service. Have confidence in each
other, trusting one another in a practical way and in the true
sense of the words. There are things which our friends of the
West can do infinitely better than we, and there are also things
which would be well done if left in the hands of the friends in
the East. One should not act independently, nor can one afford
to do so. When this is once established and practised in the
church of Christ, one can almost smile at many of the evil
doings of the Evil One. But this can never be realized in its
full measure until we all are, no matter whether East or West,.
closely united with the Divine Lord Jesus Christ.
Thus union with Christ, union of all denominations, and
union of all nationalities forms “a three-fold cord which is not
easily broken ! ”
Federation and the Baptist Problem
BY RF.V. JAMES V. LATIMER, HUCHOW
OWEVER much the Baptist problem troubles some,
it troubles Baptists none the less, and however live
and real it may be to others, it is none the less to
Baptists themselves. And since some have failed to grasp the
full import of the Baptist position because of conclusions based
upon slight knowledge, I am constrained to state briefly the
various positions held by those within the denomination.
First tliere are those who are practically ready for the free
interchange of church members, regardless of creed or practise ;
others are ready for the reception of non-immersed Christians
into the fellowship and watchcare of the church with certain
restrictions, such as voting upon matters of doctrine or dis¬
cipline ; while others, and possibly the majority of Baptist
workers in China, hold that there is no Christian baptism
but immersion, and that no one should partake of the
Lord’s Supper until baptized. Yet, although this latter
position has been reached only after long years of misunder¬
standing and division, the Baptist conscience is not peculiar,
aud they are usually found to be open to conviction and
amenable to reason.
To some it lias seemed that if there were no Baptists in
China the difficulties of union aud federation could soon be
19to] Federation and the Baptist Problem 161
cleared up, but to Baptists it lias seemed that there are other
difficulties also. The Baptists will not be asked to give up
everything for the sake of union, because they are not wholly
wrong ; yet they stand ready to give up everything shown
to be contrary to Scripture teaching, providing there be a
few Baptists on that Committee of Interpretation. Baptists
expect to stay in the movement, and any movement in which
they cannot have a part is unworthy of the name. They
are both ready to give and to give up for the sake of closer
harmony in the Church of Christ, and those who look upon
the denomination from the outside will never know the
struggle within nor the longing for real fellowship and
understanding.
Four tilings have Baptists ever held as vital:
1. Regenerate church membership, or conversion before
church membership be granted.
2. Separation of Church and State.
3. Congregational church polity.
4. Distinctive administration of the ordinances of baptism and
the Lord’s Supper.
Of these we shall not be asked to give up the first two for
the sake of union or federation, and we are open to convic¬
tion on the third. Although we believe the local church can
best govern its own affairs, and that democracy applied to
Christianity leads to the congregational church polity ; yet this
is not life , and other churches have lived and prospered under
the rule of elders and bishops. And I am not sure that the
Scriptures say more about deacons, advisory Boards, and local
church organizations than they do about elders, overseers, and
bishops. Of the fourth tenet I shall speak later.
BAPTISTS CAN CONTRIBUTE SOMETHING
to the movement for union and can add something of sober¬
ness and balance. From a worthy record of three hundred
years of denominational life they are able to contribute not a
little of theological thought, steadfastness, and real piety.
They can contribute the influence of a church life remarkably
free from heresy trials and divisive disputes. They can also
contribute an open mind and a heart ready to believe. These
things, to my mind, give promise of a place to Baptists in
every sober movement for union or federation.
162
The Chinese Recorder
[February
There seems to be at present
A CHANGING POSITION BOTH AT HOME AND ON THE
MISSION PIELD
with reference to the question in hand. Baptists are beginning
to realize that there is a great future for the federated church
both here and there, and are willing to enter into the move¬
ment so far as there be common advantage and no sacrifice of
conscience. They see as never before that the kingdom of
God is greater than the Baptist church. The migration of
the Chinese within their own territory press these questions
upon them more and more. Most churches are ready to enter
into some plan whereby the Christians from the various parts of
the empire may be cared for ; yet in many cases denominational
loyalty hinders full cooperation and efficiency. But the leaven
of federation is working even in Baptist circles, and is sure
to bring forth results. May these be both good and lasting !
A home secretary was somewhat surprised, as were the
missionaries also, to find to what extent some Baptists are
willing to go, and the home Boards have asked that tney go
carefully, lest there grow up in China a denomination without
a Board, else a Board without a home constituency, that is,
they do not kuow what the denomination at home is going to
say about the movement. And we do not know either, for it
is yet to be learned what the denomination will do with a
church which chooses to receive into membership those who
have not received baptism by immersion. And neither is it
known what would be said were it fully known that within a
year Baptists in China have taken over the work of two Presby¬
terian fields together with the Christians thereof. The Bap¬
tists have not given any great difficulty in the various provincial
federation councils, and in one in particular, composed of at
least fifty per cent. Baptist delegates (I refer to Chekiang), no
objection was raised to the proposition for open communion.
And the question of the free interchange of church members did
not receive any marked opposition, although some may have
silently consented to a measure which they could not advocate
openly. Such reports as these have caused some to fear
DENOMINATIONAL ANNIHILATION.
There are those in Baptist ranks who fully believe that
our Lord founded a Baptist church, and that the elders were
1910] Federation and the Baptist Problem 1G3
not Presbyterian nor the bishops Methodists. They believe
that after centuries of error and departure from the truth an
awakened Baptist conscience obtained which brought forth the
denomination of the present day. These people fear that simi¬
lar error is creeping into the church to-day and will result in
all loss of denominatiouality. What is the loss ? Who would
not be willing to give up every bit of denominational life if
thereby the kingdom of God might be brought to China in a
generation ? The question is, Would it ? We believe that
the teaching of the Scripture and the example of the early
church justify us in holding to the practise of baptism by im¬
mersion only, and that baptism upon confession of Jesus Christ
should precede participation in the Lord’s Supper. But bapt¬
ism is not salvation and participation in the ordinances is not
spiritual life. Union and fellowship with Christ are more
than these. Yet these are tenets of the church, a part of our
denominational life and the very heart of many a follower of
the Lord. But for the sake of closer fellowship with one an¬
other we might be persuaded to accept another form of church
polity, to yield the question of the Lord’s Supper, or even to
receive non-immersed Christians into the watchcare and fellow¬
ship of our churches. W 7 hat then is the real problem of the
Baptists ? It is that they have made
A REASONABLE REQUEST
and have not obtained a fair hearing. In fact, their request
has been ignored. We hold, without wavering, that only those
who believe on the Lord Jesus should receive baptism and that
the free interchange of church membership can be entertained
only upon the relinquishing of infant baptism by all churches.
So long as infant baptism is practised no organic union is
possible. It seems quite reasonable for other denominations to
ask that we receive into membership such members as have
received baptism upon profession of faith, and since none
question the baptism of the Baptists, they may be received freely
into the fellowship of other churches. But infant baptism is
wholly rejected by Baptists, questioned by many other denomi¬
nations and iusisted upon by only a few. Baptists cannot
accept as Christian baptism that rite which was neither asked
for, willingly accepted, consented to, nor aware of. It is a
reasonable request of the Baptists that for the sake ot closer
uniou and deeper harmony this practise be given up.
164
The Chinese Recorder
[February
Baptists can federate for work with any who love the Lord,
but for organic union there must be a common basis of practise.
They federate with Presbyterians for medical work in the
Philippines or for educational work in Shantung, with Con-
gregationalists for educational work in Hankow, with Method¬
ists for hospital work in Chekiang, and with various churches
for university work in Szechuen, but they cannot receive
into full membership those who were baptized before they had
even heard the name of the Lord, and later were led to call it
Christian baptism. So from the Baptist point of view the prob¬
lem of union and federation is solved, since it but remains to
be seen what others will do with this their reasonable request.
3n fl&emonam — Isabella Ball.
B ORN in Scotland in 1816 , Isabella Robertson was brought
up iti a religious atmosphere and one of intellectual ac¬
tivity.
Not only was her life interesting from its twenty-one years
passed on the mission field in the olden days of missionary enter¬
prise in China, but it was also an interesting link with a far-away
past in our Western lauds.
Her memory treasured up the incidents of her early life, which
was begun iu what now is a historical period. The echoes of the
field of Waterloo had scarcely died away when she first saw the
light, a year and a day after the famous fight. She had lived in
the reigus of five English sovereigns, and remembered when a little
girl having black ribbons on her dress as mourning for George III.
A pleasing reminiscence was that of her father lifting her up
to see the first steamer which sailed from Leith to London. Her
conversation revealed many incidents cf a bygone world of.cus¬
toms, such, for instance, as thieves being whipped through the
streets at a cart-tail, the franking of letters by members of parlia¬
ment, as well as such land-marks in our literary history as the
introduction of a cheap and wholesome literature by the Brothers
Chambers of Edinburgh and the appearance of Sir Walter Scott’s
novels, etc. The high character of these last opened the way for
the admission of the hitherto prohibited novel into her father's
family.
Deeply interested in missions, an opportunity presented itself to
engage in direct mission work, and she proceeded to the colony of
Hongkong, then in its early days (A. D. 1845 ) to teach in a school
for Chinese girls opened by Mrs. Shuck, the wife of an American
missionary, the church of which she was a member in Edinburgh
sending her out for that purpose.
THE LATE MRS. ISABELLA BALL
In Memoriam.—Isabella Ball
165
igto]
After a long sea voyage round the Cape it was only to find
that Mrs. Shuck was dead and the school disbanded.
Shortly after this she was married to the Rev. Dyer Ball, M.A.,
M.D., of the A. B. C. F. M.
Within a year from arrival in China she went to Canton, which
was her home for many years. Frequent changes from house to
house were necessary, Dr. Ball being the first in Canton to live
among ' the natives and away from the old factories.
Her study of Chinese at first seemed almost to link her to the
time of Morrison, as her teacher was one who had assisted the
first Protestant missionary to China in his labours. In his youth
he appeared as the younger of the two Chinese in the famous and
well-known painting of Morrison and his two teachers. The
learning of Chinese was beset with almost insuperable difficulties
then, and Mrs. Ball found, like many other lady missionaries,
that she learned better how to speak the language from intercourse
with the school girls.
The school she began was a small boarding-school, the only
kind that could be started then in those early days; in fact Mrs.
Ball’s was the first school in Southern China, except for one in
Hongkong. Not only had lodging and food to be provided for the
children, but even their clothes as an inducement to the parents to
permit them to come. Notwithstanding many discouragements,
the results were most encouraging in the case of several of the
girls, who were thus trained up to a Christian life. Mention here
can only be made of one who, married to a Christian, had a large
family of sous and daughters. She herself was a most exemplary
Christian woman and brought up her children well. Several of
the sons are foreign-trained doctors, others have been in the
government service, and most of the daughters are married to
Christian men, and thus a third generation is being brought up
and influenced by the teaching of their grandmother in the little
mission school in Canton.
A furlough in the middle of Mrs. Ball’s missionary life was
spent in the Uuited States and England with her husband and
sou, after which she remained in China till the death of Dr. Ball
in 1866, when she returned to England with her son, remaining
there for ten years. She again returned to China and had her
home in her son’s house till 1896, when she finally left China,
taking up her residence in England again at the age of 80, when
she had her home with her son’s family.
The old lady, as her friends called her, in her old age was
not one of those old women who are almost dead to the life around
them, sitting dozing by the fire the livelong day with mental
faculties dulled and beclouded with age. The old lady was
miserable if she had not some work in hand besides a perusal of
the daily paper, a missionary magazine and her books, devotional
and others. These books she read over and over again, taking
the keenest interest in them and delighting to tell others in the
family circle what she read. Missionary biography she much
enjoyed.
166
The Chinese Recorder
[February
Deafness, which began in middle age, increased to a great ex¬
tent as the years went on, so that for a quarter of a century or even
longer she had not been able to attend any religious service.
Added to this her eyesight became so poor, causing her so much
difficulty in reading that she feared blindness would result, and to
provide for this contingency she began the learning of hymns by
heart, being able to repeat long ones and storing them up in her
mind, delighting to repeat any new one learned.
Notwithstanding all these serious drawbacks to the enjoyment
of life she was always bright and cheerful, with a sweet smile
ready for all her friends.
Knitting occupied much of her time, and she was intensely
pleased when her handiwork was of use to the poor and needy,
especially was this the case when some socks she knitted were sent
to a missionary hospital in Hankow. She made all her own caps
most tastefully, and within a few days of her death she was
engaged on this work.
A saintly influence seemed to surround her and impressed
those who saw her, and she desired the spiritual good of those
she came in contact with. Religion did not make her incapable of
entering with zest into the harmless pleasures of life ; she tho¬
roughly enjoyed a good joke and took the keenest interest in what
was going on in the world. Even on her death-bed she began
talking to the doctor on the controversy over the discovery of the
North Pole and asked the news.
During a serious illness in China, w’hen death seemed immi¬
nent, instead of the prospect being what she had expected, she
mourned that the Valley of the Shadow of Death was dark to her
gaze and she could not understand it; the good Lord was not ready
yet to take her home, so dying grace was not needed, but long
before the summons came to cross the river she was ready for it.
During the physical pain of her last illness she longed to go home
and had perfect confidence in her Saviour.
She fell asleep quietly on the 25th September, 1909, at the ripe
age of 93. Her last words to her son the night before were a soft
whispered ‘ good night/
Good night, dear Soul, good night, thy last good night.
And whisper’d soft and low. Good night, dear Soul.
The day’s iong task is done and rest at last
Comes to thy waiting heart; for so He gives
To those He loves- to His beloved ones—
Sweet rest at last.
The light is fading fast
From mortal eyes. Heaven’s dawn awaits thee now.
And no more night shall gloom thy path again.
The night has passed for thee, the day has come,
Thine eyes have closed on earth to wake in Heaven,
And there no night shall come, nor tears be shed.
J. D. B.
1910] In Memoriam.—Mrs. Martha Foster Crawford
167
3ll flDemonnm.— Mrs. Martha Foster Crawford
BY MRS. JOSEPH V. DAWES, TAI-AN-FU.
HE missionary veterans of the early days, who bravely
“ blazed the way ” for those who would follow, are one
J- by one passing away. We stand and wonder upon whom
their mantles will fall. The sweet aroma of their lives, so
fragrant with noble deeds of devotion to ‘‘this one thing,” still
remains, and the great work accomplished by them is a perpetual
memorial. To write a tribute worthy of such lives is impossible,
only in “ the book” is a full and worthy record written.
Martha Foster Crawford, after more than half a century (over
fifty-seven years) of residence and service in China, passed away
at her home in Tai-an-fu, Shantung, on August 9, 1909.
Although nearing her eightieth milestone she prosecuted her
labors, even in spite of great physical suffering, with marvelous
patience and endurance until within a few months of her death.
During these last mouths, although prevented by rapidly failing
strength from active service, her keen interest in every phase of
the work never waned, and her wise loving couusel and advice
were invaluable to her fellow-workers.
This peer among missionaries was born in Georgia on January
28, 1830. At the age of fifteen she was converted; four years
later, after graduation from the Mesopotamia Institute, Eutaw,
Ala., she said to herself : ” Now I intend to stay at home. I am
homesick!” For a time she was very happy in giving herself
up to home pleasures. But soon becoming dissatisfied she began
to seek some way by which her life might be more useful. School-
teaching seemed the only avenue of service open to her, so she
sought a position. Response was slow, and she became discouraged.
On the evening of November 14, £§49, as she kneeled by her
bedside she prayed thus: ”0 Lord, Thou hast apparently closed
the door of usefulness in this teaching. Thou hast other work
for me. I beseech Thee to show me, and whatever it may be I
gladly obey.” (Even down to the evening of her life she prayed
always with the earnestness that characterizes this prayer, and
in fact characterizes her whole life and work. She ever humbly
acknowledged her weaknesses and failures.)
It may be interesting to all and helpful to some who may
lightly esteem what is known as a ‘‘call” to the foreign field to
know how this faithful servant of God looked upon it.
“ Scarcely had she finished this prayer when a powerful con¬
viction, like a flash of lightning, darted across her mind that God’s
will for her was to take the Gospel to the heathen. She had not
sought this field, but the command seemed irresistible. In vain she
tried to reason herself into the belief that it was a passing fancy
which the light of morning and the sight of other faces would
dissipate. All that the missionary life involved rose up before her,
and her faith almost fainted. She dared not pray since she could
uot say : ‘ Thy will be done,’ and it seemed unreasonable for her to
168
The Chinese Recorder
[February
pray God to send some one else and spare her ! At her stated
seasons of prayer she could only kneel and say : ‘ O Lord, help !’
Ill about a week help came, sorrow was turned into joy. Every¬
thing was full of God : and therefore full of happiness. The
missionary work became especially attractive as opening a field of
sacrifice as well as labor for Jesus.”
The assurance that she was thus definitely called, helped her
over many doubts, difficulties and discouragements and brought
her again to China, at the advanced age of seventy-two years, after
the death of her husband. Nothing daunted by this sore bereave¬
ment, which eatne upon her just as they together were preparing
to return to the land of their adoption, and in spite of many
inducements by friends and relatives to retire from missionary
work, she bravely and joyfully returned.
Arriving in China in 1852 Dr. and Mrs. Crawford labored
in Shanghai cotemporary with Dr, Yates and others until their
removal to Teng-chow-fu in 1863, where they spent thirty years.
Because of their attitude toward self-support it became necessary
for them to sever their connection with that work. About this
time Mrs. Crawford wrote as follows to her beloved co-worker
and successor, Miss Lottie Moon : “ To learn that you ha\^e decided
to come back here, greatly lessens my sorrow at leaving these
dear women for whom I have, figuratively, shed my heart’s
blood. You will love and care for them as no one else can after
I go away, for they are yours as well asinine. Our hearts are
sad at leaving, but we are able to give up all into His hands.
We have fought a good fight, we have kept the faith, we have
been true to our convictions of duty and to God. Many of these
women cry, so bitterly, every time I see them. ‘Never mind,’
I tell them, ‘others will come and look after you just as well,”
to which they reply : ‘ But others will not be our Mother.’ ”
Fortunate are we who have been closely associated with her
during the closing years of her life when ripening for her blest
transition. During her long term of service in this empire she
witnessed the devastations of war, famine and pestilence, but from
out all this she came untouched. His promise to those that dwell
“in the secret place” was beautifully fulfilled to her. One of her
favorite hymns was, “All the way my Savior leads me.”
She was engaged in school work during the first half of her
missionary life, and those who came under her influence in that
capacity speak well by their faithful Christian lives for the
influence she exerted.
The work which was dearest of all to her, and for which she
was preeminently fitted, was purely evangelistic—the going daily
from house to house, from village to village, with the glad
evangel. To this, together with the instructing of Christians,
she devoted the latter part of her life.
As someone wrote of Dr. Mateer, so would I of this departed
one. “She realized the truth of the Gospel in a very real way.
She believed it with all the intensity of her strong, sincere nature;
she lived on its truths, and was prepared to live and die for its
THE LATE MRS. MARTHA FOSTER CRAWFORD.
Illustration by courtesy of “ The New East.”
1910]
Correspondence
169
propagation and maintenance.” Her love for the lost, the poor
and the aged was deep and true, as shown by her untiring efforts
to give them the Gospel as also by her many charitable ministra¬
tions.
Before their departure from Tengchow they were self-support¬
ing, and although of large means they lived always in a simplicity
unknown to missionaries of the present day. They were faithful
stewards of what God had given them. The church at Tai-an-fu,
by the aid of a generous gift from Mrs. Crawford, will be enabled
to purchase property for buildings. She annually paid out large
sums for Gospels, books, tracts, etc., used in the work, aud at her
death left a fund for that purpose.
In the words of Phillips Brooks, she prayed not for tasks
equal to her powers, but for powers equal to her tasks.
Truly one of the mighty is fallen—fallen on the battlefield
where she had wrought so long, so nobly and so well.
How fitting such an end to a life so faithful, fruitful and full
of good works!
Correspondence.
MISSIONARY VACATIONS.
To the Editor of
“The Chinese Recorder.”
Dear Sir : In your issue for
December I note “E.’s” very
interesting discussion on mis¬
sionary vacations. I have just
returned from a furlough to the
home land, where I have been
called on to meet and refute
many charges such as indol¬
ence, inefficiency, etc., brought
against missionaries. If “ E.’s ”
statement that “all in one mis¬
sion, perfectly well people, take
eight weeks of clear holiday”
each year is of general applica¬
tion I, for one, feel that the
argument against the charge
of indolence on the part of mis¬
sionaries is seriously interfered
with. No one engaged in an
important work can afford to
be absent from his post so long
each year unless something very
unusual in local conditions makes
this necessary.
But I am convinced that
“ E-’s” observations are restrict¬
ed iu scope aud not of general ap¬
plication. The missionary with
whom I am best acquainted has
had one term of eight years in
China. During this time be had
three vacations as follows, viz.,
one of two weeks for rest, one of
two months when ordered away
from his station for medical
treatment, and once of six weeks,
during winch he preached every
day in Chinese and did five
hours’ solid work with his teach¬
er six days in the week. This
case is cited as evidence that
not every “perfectly well” mis¬
sionary has “ eight weeks clear
holiday” each year. The Mis¬
sion to which I belong has a
sort of unwritten rule that each
of its members may take a vaca¬
tion of one month each year if
he chooses to do so. But as a
matter of fact it is rarely done.
I think it would be of interest
to the mission body if Mr. E.
I/O
would collect the facts on the
subject from each of the missions
in China and give them to us
through the Recorder.
I am,
Yours truly,
0 ,
ARE STUDENT HOSTELS FOR
WOMEN NEEDED IN CHINA?
To the Editor of
“ The Chinese Recorder.”
Dear Sir : It is not our pur¬
pose so much to answer this
question as to record a few facts
that may not be familiar to our
readers, leaving the reply to
their judgment.
There is little need to point
out that the conditions of edu¬
cation in Chinese government
and gentry schools are fapidly
assuming the form of Western
education. Primary, superficial,
insufficiently instructed they
may be, but here and there from
the number of institutions plant¬
ed is growing a school destined
to live and become a power in
China. Nor is this influence to
be local. Visits to a half-score
of institutions in Peking and
Tientsin, cities whose influence
exceeds that of any other centre
in China, disclose the fact that
the larger number of the teach¬
ing force of these schools is
drawn from Central and South
China. Through them these
schools will be known through¬
out the empire.
Here and there in our Chris¬
tian schools young women are
not satisfied with the amount of
Chinese included in our course
of study, and they inquire where
they may obtain greater profici¬
ency in Chinese. The govern¬
ment schools welcome them.
In Peking we know of scores
of young women in attendance
[February
on government schools of the
capital, living not in the schools,
nor yet in the home of friends,
but in the provincial “ official re¬
sidence,” because there they hear
their own dialect and can claim
a hostel. The danger of such a
life is obvious. Nor are the
young women always those sent
from non-Christian schools. In
one week we heard of individual
young women from Shanghai,
from Soochow, and from Hang¬
chow gone north to study and
to live,—where ? These young
women have all attended Chris¬
tian schools and would not share
the prejudice that may exist
toward a Christian home with
those who have had no ex¬
perience in one.
In Peking and in Tientsin
there are teachers, graduates of
Christian schools, whose influ¬
ence in the government school
is not inconsiderable. Other
Christian young women are
being invited to accept like posi¬
tions. A Christian hostel in
these cities of the north would
do away with much of the re¬
luctance to send young women
to these posts of tremendous op¬
portunity and of imminent peril.
With a nucleus of a few Chris¬
tian teachers and of former pu¬
pils of Christian schools, whose
faith is so weak as to forbid a
future, and the power to win
souls, to the Christian hostel
among non-Christian students?
Chinese parents with great re¬
luctance allow their daughters to
reside outside the home walls,
and they will not be indifferent
to a home that promises them
protection. Conditions in Pe¬
king and Tientsin are but a be¬
ginning of educational growth
that touches even now Canton,
Foochow, Nanking, Hangchow
and in fact all the great cities
of the empire. It is a new situa-
The Chinese Recorder
1910]
Correspondence
171
tion, demanding fresh thought,
fresh prayer, fresh faith. May
we claim your cooperation in
trying to know God’s will for
this form of work ?
Such a hostel would of neces¬
sity begin in a small way. It
would require the care of a wo¬
man who understands the Chinese
language and customs, with the
assistance of a Chinese matron ;
it would require cooperation of
every missionary who can influ¬
ence a young woman attending
one of these schools, and it will
require faith in tire God who
already has His Bible classes in
the gentry schools of Shanghai
and who longs for us to believe
that He is able to touch the very
springs of the educational life of
the empire.
X.
“on the translation of
‘ THE AGES.’ ”
To the Editor of
“ The Chinese Recorder.”
Dear Sir : In the Chinese
Recorder for last December an
article appeared by Stanley
Smith, M.A., on the translation
of “The Ages.” As a plain
man, and without pretension to
classical knowledge, but as one
who has for many years borne
the responsibility of teaching
the Chinese the Scriptures, and
therefore continually using the
Chinese translations of them, I
beg permission to present some
alternative views on this subject
to those advanced by Mr. Smith.
I know he will forgive and
explain if I have misrepresented
what he says. On page 676
of his paper we read: “The
subject of the ages has its root
in the Hebrew word ‘olam.’
Gesenitis tells us in his elucida¬
tion of this most important
word that * olam ’ means 1 that
which is hidden.’ ” I have no
means of verifying Mr. Smith’s
reference to Gesenius, but it
seems that either Gesenius or Mr.
Smith is making a mistake. Dr.
Robert Young in his invaluable
Analytical Concordance of the
Bible, gives every passage in the
Bible where “olam” is used,
and anyone can see in a very
little time that ‘olam’ is uiii-
f'>rmly used for such words as
ever and everlasting ; not once
is the word used for that which
is hidden. Dr. Young, however,
gives us another word, in form
and sound very like “olam,”
with only the difference of a
letter. It is the word “alam,”
and means “hidden and hid¬
den times.” Its use in the Bible
seems limited to the Book of
Daniel. Dr. Young in his lexi¬
con gives for “alam” that
which is hidden but for “ olam,”
that which is everlasting, eternal
and never that which is hidden.
Now this is very impor¬
tant, because the burden of Mr.
Smith’s teaching is based on his
statement that “ olam ” properly
means “that which is hidden ! ”
For instance, Mr. Smith ap¬
plies this meaning to the word
everlasting in Psalm xe. 2. In¬
stead of anything being hidden
in this Scripture, there is to faith
really very much revealed be¬
cause from a passage like this
we learn the eternity of God.
And in Micah v. 2 from “ olam ”
we learn that the second person
of the Trinity is “from ever¬
lasting” also. The popular
reader knows that the words
ever and everlasting are limited
sometimes in their use by the
very nature of the things to
which they are applied. As
Cruden says : “The words eter¬
nal, everlasting, for ever, are
sometimes taken for a long time
172
and are not always to be under¬
stood strictly,” But this is not
quite the point. The question
raised is, Can the word ‘olam’
in any instance mean endlessness
in the infinite sense? Mr. Smith
does not admit as much, for if it
does not bear this interpretation
in Psalm xc. 2 it is no use attri¬
buting that meaning to it else¬
where. Now in the case of
Phineas (page 637): he was
promised, and his seed after
him, an everlasting priesthood.
The succession, as Mr. Smith
says, was ‘‘interrupted and then
resumed.”
The simple answer to this
difficulty seems to be that the
everuess was conditional on
obedience which failed. The
everuess of many of God’s pro¬
mises is lost in a similar way,
though sometimes their con¬
ditional character is implied
rather than expressed.
Let us remember too that
Scripture words must not be
interpreted quite like ordinary
ones. Scripture passages are
related to one another so as to
form a unique whole. Even the
Holy Spirit uses the same words
in different ways in different
places. Scripture prophecy in
particular has not its own Itiiag-
en/Tvaewf, that is, it must not be
interpreted by itself apart from
its connexion elsewhere (II,
Peter i. 20). Take, for example,
the passages Mr. Smith gives:
Deut. xv. 17 with Isaiah L.
Christ being under the law, He
became a servant. He is a
servant still, and though He
be God, He is truly man also,
and will be a servant for ever.
Again, Israel because of their
sins, have been alienated from
their laud, but that land is still
theirs by an everlasting cove¬
nant. The words “ the house
of Jacob shall possess their pos¬
[February
sessions” show the possessions
to be theirs in a real sense,
though they are not at present
in possession. The adoption,
glory, convenants, etc., still per¬
tain to Israel (Rom ix. 3), and
these gifts and callings of God
are without repentance. But
this is only to speak, and that
very briefly, of literal Israel,
and nothing is said of the bless¬
ings some Christians find in
applying the Jewish promises to
themselves in a spiritual way.
The temporal circumstance, per¬
haps, about Israel, is used with
undeniable right to mean truly
everlasting blessing.
It seems to Mr. Smith that
Isaiah xxx. 10 has been fulfilled
because one can “ take a Cook’s
tourist ticket to Petraea,” but
there are different views on the
subject of fulfilled prophecy.
For instance, “The Schofield
Reference Bible ’ ’ heads Isaiah
xxxiv. with these words :—
* ‘ The Day of the Lord—
Armageddon.” Mr. Smith has
not shown that the judgment of
God on the land of Edom has
been fully accomplished. The
Book of Obadiah would seem to
show that it has not.
(Page 678). “To some of the
divine attributes of which olam
is predicated, the idea of meta¬
physical (sic) eternity cannot
be attached. For example, God’s
mercy could not be(!) called into
exercise before the existence of
evil in the universe, nor His
wrath.”
I think Mr. Smith must have
forgotten for a moment God's
purpose of eternal mercy. Re¬
demption is not an afterthought.
Mercy precedes evil. We who
believe were chosen in Christ
before the foundation of the
world, long, long before evil
existed. God’s works are ever
but the manifestation of His
The Chinese Recorder
1910]
173
Correspondence
attributes, never the occasion of
their origin. “ God is love.”
Now in coming to the New
Testament, as Mr. Smith says,
aia)v and are the New Tes¬
tament equivalents for ‘olam.’
But we have seen the meaning
of ‘olam' to be everlasting. I
am not sure that ‘olam’ is never
to be explained by its Greek
equivalents, because the Septua-
giut is quoted in the New
Testament, and the New Testa¬
ment quotation is accepted in
places where Hebrew and Greek
are not exactly the same. I
mean to say that at least Greek
stands on its own merits. The
Greek writers could have known
nothing of the Jewish Scriptures
before the Jewish high priest,
as an unheard of favour, gave
Ptolemy Philadelphus access to
them, so that the Septuagint
translation could be made. Let
us enquire what Greek writers,
apart from the N. T. ones, have
to say to us about this word
everlasting.
To borrow the words of a
competent Greek scholar : ” The
etymology given as early as the
time of Aristotle, and by him,
is cuev wv t always existing. The
earliest use of the word is in the
sense of a man’s life. It is fre¬
quently used by Homer of the
death of his heroes and in other
ways. . . . Very much later it
came to mean one whole dis-
pensational period or state of
things, but when used by itself
in its own meaning it had very
clearly the sense of eternity. It
is thus used by Pliilo in a pass¬
age.which can leave no doubt :
iv cucovi Be ovt€ TrapeXrfKvdev
ovSeu ovt€ /A^Wei aXka fxovov
vcj)e<TT7)K€. In eternity (aim)
nothing is either past or to come,
but subsists.
“ Nothing cau more fully show
that this word, in its own simple
full force to a Hellenistic Jew
of that age, meant eternity in
the strictest sense.” Pliilo was
a Hellenistic Jew, who flourish¬
ed in the time of the apostles,
and would therefore be a good
authority for New Testament
Greek.
But most people get their
meanings of words from their
usage, not from their diction¬
aries, or from the words’ deriva¬
tion. In Chinese for example,
if we insisted on the ^ ^ being
always meant to mean firstborn,
we should get far astray. Take
then the usage of everlasting in
the New Testament, where
the equivalents of ‘olam’ are
used. Christ has obtained eter¬
nal redemption for us. We are
sure this means for au end¬
less future. In Heb. vii. 16-17
the writer is writing of One
who is made a priest after
“ the power of an eudless life.”
What is his proof text ? This
very word “ Thou art a priest
for ever tov iuiava, Jesus pro¬
mises His sheep that they shall
never perish, and though the
finite cannot grafp the infinite,
the Holy Spirit, who is a divine
person dwelling in the believer,
can enlighten the mind in a way
so as to make the eternal pro¬
spect very real and very bright.
The reader can, if he chooses,
multiply to something like sixty
times in the New Testament
this reference to the word ever¬
lasting.
The word age is of course
used in the sense of a limited
period or of dispensations of
time and has a beginning, but it
is not only used in that way.
But when we speak of an age as
such, would it not be better to
call it an age, and not an eterni¬
ty ? It would better help us to
distinguish between things that
differ.
174
(Page 679). '‘There are two
great ‘ages/ etc.” Mr. Smith
divides and subdivides these
two great ages, bringing in gen¬
ealogies, and makes them cover
the period from the fall of man
to the time of the end, when
the Father, he says, becomes
41 all in all.”
Now, to be scriptural, it is God
(not the Father) who is said
to become ‘‘all in all.” May
not this mean the Triune God ?
(I. Cor. xv. 28) and this notwith¬
standing v. 24, where Christ
is evidently acting as a man.
It seems that to Mr. Smith
this phrase “ the ages of ages ”
can have no infinite meaning;
he is able, according to his
theory, to state the beginning
and see the end, no matter how
long or uncertain the period
divided and subdivided in be¬
tween. This theory is clearly
and powerfully set forth. It
does not lose a point in the
hands of its exponent. He is in
earnest and tells us plainly what
he means. He says : “ Some of
ns hold that the mediatorial
kingdom of Christ, in which
Pie reigns with His saints ‘ unto
ages of the ages,’ is the very
kingdom which will be delivered
up to the Father, and is there¬
fore in a real sense terminable.”
That is to say, the reign “for
ever and ever” of Rev. xxii. 5
is ‘‘in a real sense terminable.”
There is no other Scripture but
this as far as I can find, where
God’s servants are said to reign
for ever and ever. But here it is
not said they reign with Christ .
No ! Where they are said to
reign with Christ the time men¬
tioned is a thousand years. Rev.
xx. 4. And we are not going
to allow, because it is not true,
whatever savants in Europe or
America may have to say to us
about Greek or Hebrew, that
[February
the Son of God who loved us
and gave Himself for us, can
ever cease to reign.
The end of the thousand years,
Rev. xx, appears, roughly
speaking, to coincide with the
end mentioned in I. Cor. xv. 24,
or perhaps a little to precede it.
The same period which Mr.
Smith understands to be the end
of *‘ the ages of the ages.”
The expression ei’v tou? aroma?
7o>v cud)va>v does not mean the
thousand years. It is a mistake
to take it to mean anything
which is terminable. It is Greek
for eternity in the strongest
sense, compounded for the sake
of emphasis. The late Dr.
Angus, of Regent’s Park, London,
called it the strongest expression
that exists for the meaning of
eternity. This would seem to
be so, from its use in Rev. i. 18,
“ I am He that liveth, and was
dead, and behold I am alive jor
evermore (Amen) and have the
keys of death and of hades.”
After evermore some copyist
must have wrongly inserted
“Amen!” Can we not under¬
stand the copyist if he had a
full heart making a mistake?
The Amen is no doubt rightly
removed, but we may retain it
with thanksgiving in our hearts.
‘‘For evermore!” is this
terminable ? Are the revisers
of the Union Version in Chinese
mistaken in translating -ij< $£
Us f° r this strongest expres¬
sion for eternity ?
In Mr. Smith’s suggested trans¬
lations, as he tells us, he has
carefully excluded those expres¬
sions which mean ‘‘ infinite,” or
“without end.” He has told
us why. The Easy “ Wen-li ”
revisers mostly exclude them,
perhaps because of putting the
book into a compact style. Wil¬
liams’ Dictionary gives it it as
the equivalent of for ever and
The Chinese Recorder
Our Book Table
175
1910 ]
ever, but of course for a true
ever and ever. And this would
be authority for the “ Weu-li ”
revisers.
But I thank God that the
unionist translators have guard¬
ed the Greek phrase meaning
“evermore” in all the nineteen
passages where it occurs.
It lias been suggested that it
is not translation but exegesis
to add fnf as the unionist
translators have done, because
the Greek phrase has no avev
reXon? “ without end.” But for
expressions which in themselves
mean endlessness such an ex¬
pression would be redundant.
(Page 682). Col. i. 20 calls
for comment because being used
in connection with Phil. ii. 1011
it should be noted that in Col. i.
20, where peace and reconcilia¬
tion are made through the blood
of the cross, there is no mention
of the “ things under the earth”
or infernal regions, as in the ease
where all are made to confess
that Jesus is Lord by virtue of
the name of Jesus in Phil. ii. 10.
In conclusion one may express
his gratitude to all translators
of the Scriptures into Chinese,
past and present; they knew
and know their work is not
perfect. Whose is? “ In many
tilings we all offend.” But
let us pray for those engaged
in translation work at the
present time, not that they may
be fair to this party or that or
to all alike. We should not
think much of them if they tried
to do this. But let us pray that
the Holy Spirit who inspired the
holy men of old to write God’s
Word, may fill our brethren
with divine light, that they may
so give the true meaning in
Chinese that Chinese Christians
in days to come may be largely
helped, and that if the Lord
tarry we may all meet multitudes
in heaven saved by God’s grace,
as results of the foundation of
things many are earnestly work¬
ing for in China to-day.
Yours, etc.,
Thomas Hutton.
Our Book Table.
The object of these Reviews i
books. Authors will help review
price, original if any, or any oth<
of prefixing an English preface to
gg.ff. ® Jl- The Sabbath and the
Ecclesiastical Year.
This little book of fifteen
leaves is the ecclesiastical calen¬
dar of the Lutheran Church.
It is translated into good W£n-li
by Rev. A. Fleischer, of Hunan.
About half the book consists of
an introduction, in which the
reasons why we worship God at
stated times, the difference
> to give real information about
>rs by seudiug with their books,
r facts of interest. The custom
Chinese books is excellent.
between the Jewish Sabbath and
the Lord’s day, etc., are set
forth clearly and well. In the
beginning of the second chapter,
p. 4, the difference between out¬
ward form Jj? ^ and sincerity
H ftji is set forth. This is often
treated of in Chinese books, but
we do not remember ever to
have seen |j| jjitji used for “ truth
in the inward parts' ’ and think
a better term could be found.
176 The Chinese Recorder [February
4 A Selection of Hymns
for the Lutheran Church. By Dr.
J. A. Nilssen, lyang.
Thirty-six hymns in all; some
old friends and some new ac¬
quaintances. May they all help
to call forth prayer and adoration
from Chinese hearts to our com¬
mon Lord.
Iff ~vL Private Letter to Boys.
By Rev. A.. Tatchell, M.R.C.S.,
Wesleyan Mission Hospital, Han¬
kow.
Dr. Tatchell has been moved
to write this letter and to com¬
mence a purity league for Chi¬
nese boys by bis experience of
the distressing need for such an
organization. Will all those will¬
ing to help please communicate
with Dr. Tatchell at the above
address.
@3 ft 0 if. Devotional Exercises for
Every Day in the Month, prepared
for school children.
We are told in the preface
that these exercises were origi¬
nally written by a Norwegian
pastor whose life work is to
teach the dumb. The book has
in its twenty leaves thirty-one
short addresses to children on
well-known texts. It has been
translated into Mandarin by Rev.
J. A. 0 . Gotteberg.
Hi tc ft IS ft m f£2 M Ok- The Ritual
of the Norwegian Church. By the
Rev. J. A. 0. Gotteberg, Changsha.
This is a book of eighty-four
leaves, printed in good clear type
on white maopien paper. It is
translated, printed and published
by the Lutheran Church in
Changsha. In every church
there is a recognized order of
service. Some churches em¬
body this order in a printed
form, and it is then called a
ritual. As this book is prepared
by a Lutherau Church pastor
for the Lutheran Church it is
to be presumed that it meets the
need of, and will be welcomed
by, that body of Christians. The
prelace suggests that the book
has yet to be submitted to an
assembly of the church for its
acceptance. If that is so, it may
not be out of place to call
attention to some infelicities of
style that might be amended.
One does so with great deference,
for nothing is more difficult than
to write a book of this kind,
clothing aspirations of prayer
and praise in appropriate lan¬
guage, and nothing is easier than
to criticise such a book when it
has been written. The preface,
page i, has the sentence ^
6-1 Ilf ^ EL fc T> which says :
“The present time has already
come.” The writer means *to
say : “ Now the time has come,
etc.” On page 2 we read
ft .t * JE fi'j
&>} 9 b, “ Why should we wish
to have one fixed rule?” It
would be much better and
shorter if it was put M $
m ® r £ ft ue- 3 #
3^ *T H Hm “ The Universal
Lutheran Church ” would be
better ij| fg -fT. On page
1 of the book we read in the
first prayer 5t # $ J® (|jf)
$J |p ]f|j, “Thus we will be
able by the use of thy word to
be conscious of repentance of
our sins.” Surely it is meant
that we pray for repentance, not
for the consciousness of repent¬
ance. On page 8 we have
H - $ fa if, “Leave all
that is not fitting.” The sen¬
tence seems unfinished. Would it
not be better to say : (ft p|j — %
^ if Hr @ but the is
scarcely good any way. On
page 9 we read & fg fi'j $ ^
M if II; here fg is the
1910]
Our Book Table
177
object of the verb so what is
said is, “ Give us extraordinary
(or unexpected) prayers.” Of
course this is not what is meant,
and while it is admittedly diffi¬
cult to make the words fit the
meaning in a book of this kind
no effort should be spared to
attain this end.
Report of the 43rd Year of St. Luke’s
Hospital for Chinese.
This is an interesting report
of a good work. The statistics
for the year show that 1,455
patients were treated in the
medical and surgical wards,
41,243 patients were treated in
the dispensary, 2,665 private
calls were made, 2,190 accident
cases were received, 436 cases of
»pium poisoning demanded at¬
tention, and there were 502
vaccinations. Early next year
the new hospital will be open,
and then the present overcrowd¬
ing will be relieved.
BOOK REVIEWS.
Buddhism as a Rkugion: its his¬
torical development- and its pre¬
sent conditions, by II. Hackmanti,
Lie. Tlieol. (Published by Probst-
hain & Co,, 14 Great Russel str.,
London, W. C. pp. 320. 6s. nett).
May be ordered from Presbyterian
Mission Press.
This book is the ripe fruit of
over twenty years of study
and will prove to be a valuable
guide to all missionaries in the
study of Buddhism. The
author, who from 1894 to 1901
was pastor of the German con¬
gregation in Shanghai, made
extensive journeys in the whole
Far East and lived in many
Buddhist monasteries, in order
to investigate the actual present-
day life of the monks. He
went also to the west of China
(Mount Omi), and from there
to Burma. Afterwards, as
pastor of a German church in
London, he continued his
studies, having the books and
collections of the British
Museum at his disposal. The
book under review gives us the
result of all these investigations.
It was first published in German
and is now enlarged and trans¬
lated into English. It is writ¬
ten in an easy style, so that the
reader need not fear too ab¬
struse speculations. Book I. gives
a very concise but excellent
rhumb of the life of the Buddha
and of his doctrine, confining
itself to that which can, with
confidence, be pronounced to
be historically true. “Buddha
denied both the individual soul
and the All-Soul” (p. 12).
“ Asceticism has no intrinsic
value for the Buddha'’ (p. 17).
“ He (the monk according to or¬
iginal Buddhism) eats what is
given him ; meat is not forbidden.
A widespread error among Eu¬
ropeans is that Buddha forbade
the eating of meat, but he em¬
phatically rejected this limita¬
tion, though it is manifest that
he prohibited the killing of ani¬
mals for food ” (p. 23). “It is
another common error for those
at a distance to imagine that
Buddhism ascribes a special
merit to the monastic way of life
in itself because of ascetic prin¬
ciples. On the contrary, even
the rules of monkhood in them¬
selves possess no saving value.
Saving value is only to be
obtained by spiritual labour ,
which should begin under the
protection of the monastic life”
(p. 24). “ The candidate who
had been admitted (into the
monkhood) was at liberty to
leave at any time subsequently,
should he change his mind”
(p. 29). These few quotations
show the value of the book and
m
may stimulate tlie appetite for
more. Book II. gives a sketch of
the History of Buddhism (in
India, Ceylon, Farther India,
Tibet, China, Korea, Japan).
Book III. describes modern Bud¬
dhism as a present-day religion,
comprising all the countries
under its sway (pp. 93-295). It
contains (1) general remarks
on southern and northern Bud¬
dhism, (2) the Buddhism of
Ceylon, (3) of Burma, (4) of
Siam, (5) Eamaism, (6) Chi¬
nese Buddhism, (7) Buddhism
in Korea, (8) Japanese Bud¬
dhism. His criticism of tire
Chinese monks is severe, but
just (p. 227, 247). “The
laity (of the Chinese) cannot
rightly be considered a Bud¬
dhist people. In the statistics
of Chinese religions only the
monks should be reckoned as
Buddhists’’ (p. 257). About
Japan he says: “Buddhism is
more or less a traditional and
external cult, and in this form it
is superciliously ignored by the
educated or treated with a smile
of contempt” (p. 271). Prayer-
wheels are also to be found in
Japanese temples (p. 274).
The shin- sect (Hougwanji sect)
allows their priests to marry
(p. 290). He meutions (p. 295)
the International Buddhist
Young Men’s Association of
Japan (founded in 192). Very
valuable is the concluding chap¬
ter. “The basis of the true
doctrine of Gautama is every¬
where too narrow to become a
foundation of national religion.’’
“These changes (substituting
paradise for Nirvana, a doctrine
of God and the soul) are an
absolute contradiction to the
most important points in the
Buddha’s teaching ’’ (p. 296).
“ Mouasticism is everywhere
seen to be a bar to the progress
of religion, of society aud of
[February
culture’’ (p.297). “All those
stereotyped defects, manifesting
themselves in the history of
Buddhism, spring from the na¬
ture of its original character ” (p.
298) . “Asa religion Buddhism
is entirely inadequate, and the
defect is so closely allied to its
deepest principle that it appears
very questionable whether it
could ever be remedied except
at the price of giving up its
own fundamental ideas” (p.
299) , A valuable list of the
best books on Buddhism is
added and a useful index.
The book is really excellent
and besides very cheap. We
heartily recommend it to all
our missionary brethren and
sisters. It can teach us how
to observe aud how to study
foreign religions. For a second'
edition I have only the one
desideratum, that the influence
of Christianity on the genesis
and development of the Maha-
yaua school should be. more
clearly elucidated.
P. Kranz.
Men and Missions. By W. T. Ellis.
Sunday School Times Company,
Philadelphia, Pp. 315. PriceG.|i.oo.
The author of this book is
well known to many missionaries
in China as the Christian journal¬
ist who acted as the represent¬
ative of the Christian Herald of
New 1 York during the famine in
Kiang-peh and Anhui in 1907.
For many years deeply interest¬
ed in the work of Christian mis¬
sions his travels have turned the
gifts aud activities of Mr. Ellis
into a definite missionary chan¬
nel. In this excellent book the
author deals with the main prob¬
lems of the Christian mission¬
ary enterprise as they present
themselves to an interested
Christian layman. The book is
The Chinese Recorder
1910]
Our Book Table
179
written altogether from the point
of view of the American layman,
but apart from some mild spread-
eagleism in the opening chap¬
ters, it is good reading for any
one who wants to get into close
touch with the modern mission¬
ary problem. In view of the
fact that this book might cir¬
culate with profit over the whole
English-speaking world we could
wish that chapter 3 had been
written from a wider point of
view. We are told on page 34
that “ a traveller from the West
is amazed and chastened to learn
the far-rauiifying power of the
American genius.” Query, What
is it that chastens him? Any¬
how the chastening appears not
to be very serious, for later we
read: “The land of the Morn¬
ing Calm knows America as the
country whence come the mis¬
sionaries who have brought
thither all of hope and emancipa¬
tion that she possesses.” This
is rather hard upon the Angli¬
can Church. Once more: “As
for China herself, America is
undoubtedly the most popular
nation there.” Still again:
“Without exaggeration it may
be said that because of the pre¬
ponderance of Americau mission¬
aries, America wields an unique
and remarkable power in the
leadership of India.” And yet
again: “Largely out of the
American mission schools have
developed the new spirit which
is reshaping Egypt, which has
given Persia a constitutional
government, and forever over¬
turned the murderous reign of
tyranuy and bigotry in Turkey.”
What more can we say? Those
of us whose nativity was cast in
less favoured lands may well
wonder what is left for us to do.
All this may be very good read¬
ing for the Imperialists of the
United States, but we doubt
whether it will impress very
much the leading laymen of
Canada, to whom many cf the
arguments afterwards brought
forward are addressed.
Now we have done with critic¬
ism.
The outlook that this book
presents upon the non-Christian
world is wide and uplifting.
While the depressing details of
missionary failure and shortcom¬
ing are not ignored, the work
of missions is set in a heroic
light. “Missions,” says Mr.
KHis, “are a man's job,”
and he protests forcibly and
rightly against the small ideas
and ideals which have cramped,
warped and crippled the advance
of Christianity on the heathen
world. The biggest work in the
world, he says, should be done
in the biggest manner in the
world by the world’s biggest
men. When Christian men who
have wealth are brought to an
understanding of what the mis¬
sionary problem involves, the
author contends that they will
find it far greater fuu, as well
as more satisfying, to ruu a mis¬
sion station than the latest auto¬
mobile.
Mr. Ellis has had a sufficient
first-hand knowledge of what
missionaries stand for and what
are their weaknesses to deal
some trenchant blows in a friend¬
ly but critical spirit at both the
mistakes of missionaries and the
bad policy of mission Boards.
He analyzes the criticism of
missions and missionaries which
may be heard on the lips of
travellers and residents abroad
with great skill, and says
it is little less than absurd
to judge Hinduism by what an
Orientalist thinks of a selected
few of its sacred writings. “ A
man does not have to know
Sanscrit in order to form an
ISO
opinion of Hinduism. Let him
go to Benares and use his own
eyes and ears —and nose.” Then
he argues that it should be
the business of some missionary
agency to represent to travellers
and others the real position of
missionary work in such centres
as Shanghai. A great mistake
has been made in the past, ac¬
cording to the writer, by the
assumption on the part of mission¬
ary supporters, as expressed in
some shallow missionary hymns,
that the heathen are clamouring
for admission to the kingdom
of God. There is no “ cry from
our Macedonia” other than the
unspoken call of need. In the
same connection also, the fact
that missionaries have been ex¬
pected to drop a kindly veil
over their repeated failures and
to refrain from talking of the
difficulties of their work rightly
meets with stricture. Mr. Ellis
moreover suggests that there is
too great a possibility of incom¬
petent missionaries continuing a
useless career on the mission field
without let or hindrance. He
urges a policy of thorough , and
says that if, alter a few years of
work, any man js not competent
as a missionary, he should be
sent home. Incompetent and
slack individuals in missionary
societies form the real basis of
many of the absurd charges
which are levelled against mis¬
sionaries as a whole. He also
thinks that it should be the
business of the Christian laymen
of the world to stand squarely
tip to the criticism of missionary
men and methods and force the
critic to an examination and a
judgment.
In one chapter this book dis¬
cusses the watchword of the
Student Volunteer Movement,
aud concludes that the work is
not limited by that watchword.
[February
“ The uew conception of foreign
missions has no room for clocks
or calendars.” Missionary devo¬
tion is no mere campaign excite¬
ment. “It is a definite deep
life-purpose that strikes down to
the very roots of manhood aud
religion.”
One of the closing chapters
on “ The Returning Gospel,”
which points out that missionary
Christianity may, and is likely
to, become the great revivifying
influence in the Western world,
is very suggestive. A very valu¬
able appendix, giving informa¬
tion for the conduct of meetings
and outlining plaus of campaign
among the churches and com-
muuities in the home lands, con¬
cludes this most interesting and
useful piece of missionary litera¬
ture.
The book is published at $i
gold, net. We can recommend
all missionaries who wish to
give lukewarm friends some¬
thing which will increase their
understanding and whet their
appetite for missionary prob¬
lems to purchase a copy of this
book for such presentation.
W. N. B.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.
One Pretty Calendar from Soochow
University.
Macmillan & Co., London.
A New Algebra. By S. Bernard and
J. M. Child. Parts I to IV. With
answers. 534 pages. The aim of
this work is to provide a school
algebra which contains the logical
development of the subject iu
accordance with modern views.
Price, 4/-
Part IV of the same in separate volume.
Price 1/9.
Murche’s Science Readers. Book II.
With Anglo-Chinese Notes by Prof.
N. Gist Gee. Translated by Sung
Pah-foo. Both of Soochow Uni-
The Chinese Recorder
Our Book Table
181
1910]
versity. Illustrated. Pages 160.
Paper covers. Price 60 cents.
The Tale of Troy, retold in English,
by Abrey Stewart, M.A. Edited for
schools, with introduction, etc.
With Anglo-Chinese Notes by M. E.
Tsur. 2S4 pages. Paper covers.
Price $1.00.
Edward Arnold , London.
Arnold School Series. Object Read¬
ers. Books I, II, III. Pages 140,
156, and 190. Prices, iod., 1/- and
1/3. Illustrated; a number of the
illustrations being beautifully color¬
ed.
New Announcements.
The Traveller’s Guide. Religious
1 'ract Society, London.
An Elementary Study of Chemistry,
by Macplierson and Henderson.
A First Course in Physics, by Mil¬
likan and Gale.
These 2 books by Rev. Chang
Yung-hsun.
Directory of Worship of Presbyte¬
rian Church, by C. D. Harriott.
The Fact of Christ. D. MacGillivray.
(P. Carnegie Simpson’s.) C. T. S.
“Wiiat a Young Boy ought to
know” (Stall). Li Yuug-chwen,
Chinkiang.
Rev. J. Leighton Stuart, of Nan¬
king, has 15 lessons on “Greek for
Chinese students,” and hopes to go
on with the work.
Life of Lord Shaftesbury. E. Mor¬
gan.
Torrey’s How to Pray (in press).
Finney’s Revival Tract (out). D.
MacGillivray.
Methods of Bible Study. D. Mac¬
Gillivray.
Supplement to Catalogue. D. Mac¬
Gillivray,
Com. 011 Amos. C. Campbell Brown.
Homiletics. W. M. Hayes.
Life of Mrs. Kuram. J. Vale.
Newell's O. T. Studies. J. Vale.
Rev. Thos. C. Fulton. Expository
and Houiiletical Commentary on the
Gospels.
Life of Alfred the Great. C. L. S.
Practice of Presence of God. C. L. S.
Law’s Serious Call. C. L. S.
Preparation for the Messiah in the
East. C. L. S.
Patterson’s Pauliue Theology. D,
MacGillivray,
Will the person doing “Stalker’s
Paul ” please give particulars to Dr.
MacGillivray ?
BOOKS IN PREPARATION IN WEST
CHINA.
From the West China Traci
Society's List.
Safety, Certainty, and Enjoyment.
Abridged Pilgrim’s Progress; in verse,
Christianity and Confucianism. By
a Chinese student.
Great Events of Old and New Testa¬
ment ; in verse.
The Holy Spirit. How to obtain and
how to retain.
Our Bible Readings.
Korea and its People.
Griffith Thomas on the Acts.
14 Prize Essays on the Duty of Men
to instruct the Women aud Chil¬
dren of their Households.
Sheet Tract on Payment of Taxes.
From Guilt through Grace to Glory.
By Y. M. C. A.
Temptations of Students, by John R. Mott.
Power of Jesus Christ in the Life of Stir-
dents. John R. Moti.
Achievement—O. S. Marden (abridgment.)
Constructive Studies iu the Gospel of Mark.
Burton.
Bismarck: His Life and Work (W6n-li). by
Rev. P. W. Leusehner.
Westcott’s Commentary on St. John’s Gos¬
pel, by Rev. G. Miles,’ Wesleyan Mission.
Onward, Christian Soldiers. Talks on Prac¬
tical Religion (S. P. C. K.), by Rev. Win P.
Chalfant, Ichowfu.
Expository Commentary on John’s Gospel,
George Hudson.
Mongol Catechism. Robert Stephen, Jehol,
via Peking, from whom copies may be had.
182
The Chinese Recorder
[February
Missionary News.
Brief Items.
A Bible institute will be held
in Wuhu from February 23 to
March 9. A strong programme
is being prepared.
The Educational Association
of China recommended that local
associations should be formed,
and now Shanghai has formed
such an association with Chi¬
nese and foreigners closely co¬
operating.
The first Chinese National
Exposition, to last eight months,
will be opened in Nanking next
spring. The missionaries are
planning large things, so that
Christianity may be worthily
represented at the exposition.
Details will be given in due time.
Rev. J. Mowatt, of Hwai-
ehhngfu, Honan, reports a most
interesting case whom he met on
his last tour. The young man
read an article which was a
translation of a chapter of Drum¬
mond’s “ Natural Law in the
Spiritual World,” and which bad
appeared in the Wan Kuo Knng
Pao. He seemed to have the
article off by heart, and is now
zealously enquiring about Chris¬
tianity.
Mr. W. E. Blackstone is now
in this country with a vast
scheme of Bible distribution, the
'•details of which are now being
worked out. The Bible Com¬
mittee of Korea recently met,
and, with a guarantee from the
missionaries, they are going to
print 1,000,000 Gospels. The
distribution of these will be
made through Korean Christians
buying copies and giving them
away carefully and expeditious¬
ly. No English or American
money is to be raised. All will
be raised by the Koreans them¬
selves.
Canadian Anglicans having
for a long time worked in con¬
nection with the Church Mis¬
sionary Society in Fukien, have
at last decided to establish an
independent work. They have
chosen Kaifengfu, the capital of
Honan, as their field, where it is
proposed to build up a Christian
university. The other missions
in Honan have hitherto failed
to establish such an institution.
The Rev. W. C. White, M.A.,
who came to China in 1897, was
consecrated Bishop of Honan in
St. Janies Cathedral, Toronto,
on November 30, 1909, and will
shortly reach China.
A friend in Yunnan, to which
Mr. S. Pollard recently returned
as labourer among the Hua
Miao, writes an interesting let¬
ter under date of December 6,
pointing out how Christianity is
affecting the Miao women. Pre¬
viously these were worse off by
far than their Chinese sisters.
They had no social law, no
social ties. No such thing as
legalized marriage existed. Mur¬
der and direst disorder, disease
and pestilence were rife, but
Christianity came and the girls
closed their dens of shame and
misery. Betrothal and marriage
laws of an enlightened character
have been made. Besides this,
the Miao soon had their own
literature. Some books in a
strange character were discover¬
ed and deciphered. Now books
in Miao are being printed in
West China and in Japan.
183
Missionary News
1910]
Union in Educational Work.
The following account of the
union of educational work in
Nanking appeared in The Shang¬
hai Times :—
A plan for the union of mis¬
sion schools in Nanking, which
has been under consideration for
nearly two years, has at last been
worked through and brought to
a successful conclusion. Some
three or four years ago the
boys’ school belonging to the
Presbyterian Mission and the
Christian college belonging to
the Disciples of Christ Mission,
were united, and though under
one name, have been running
very much as they formerly were
in different parts of the city.
Neither of the schools had dor¬
mitory space for all the students,
and none lias been added since
the union. Two years ago the
question of a union of this union
school with Nanking University
was brought up. Committees
were appointed to consider the
feasibility of such a plan, and
the result was that a preliminary
constitution as a basis of union
was written.
There were many difficult and
delicate questions which had to
be faced by both parties to the
union, and there were times
when it was felt that these ques¬
tions could not be uiet and an¬
swered satisfactorily. But after
much discussion during the
summer of 1909 at Killing cer¬
tain changes were made in the
old constitution, which made it
acceptable to all. The result is
that the constitution has been
accepted by the three Missions
and the three Mission Boards in
America, and it has therefore
become the basis of* union for
the two schools.
The following quotation from
the Constitution will show the
“Basis of Representation” of
the Board of Managers of the
Union University:—
Section i.—Basis of Repre¬
sentation.
A. Each mission entering the
union shall be entitled to full
representation (/<?., by four
members) on the Board of Mana¬
gers upon meeting the follow¬
ing conditions:
(1) . Fluids or property shall
be provided of a minimum value
of $40,000 gold.
(2) . Three regularly appoint¬
ed missionaries who may become
members of the faculty upon
appointment by the Board of
Managers.
(3) . An annual cash gua¬
rantee toward current expenses
of not less than $2,400 gold
until such time as these ex¬
penses, together with those
arising from development, etc.,
are so amply covered by endow¬
ment that those funds are no
longer required for the main¬
tenance and proper development
of the university.
B. Any mission which cannot
meet all of the conditions for
full representation as stated in
Clause A of this section may
secure partial representation as
follows: By providing $10,000
gold in money or available prop¬
erty, one instructor and $600
gold for current expenses, a mis¬
sion may secure one representa¬
tive on the Board of Managers.
For $20,000 gold, two instruct¬
ors and $1,200 gold for current
expenses, a mission may have
two representatives. For $30,000
gold, three instructors, and
$i,8oo gold for current expenses,
a mission may have three repre¬
sentatives.
At recent meetings of the
different missions each one chose
184 The Chinese Recorder [February
four representatives who, when
organized, were to constitute
the Board of Managers of the
new university. For the Pres¬
byterian Mission those chosen
were: Messrs. J. C. Garritt, W.
J. Drummond, A. V. Gray, and
Samuel Cochran. But as Dr.
Cochran was unable to be pres¬
ent, Mr. J. E. Williams was
allowed to act for him. For the
Disciples Mission those chosen
were : Messrs. Settlemeyer, Cory,
Garrett, and Osgood ; and for the
Methodist Episcopal Mission:
Messrs. Ferguson, Stuart, Beebe,
and Bowen.
These twelve men met in the
office of the president of Nan¬
king University, on December
2ist, and organized according to
the terms of the Constitution
accepted by the missions and the
home Boards. The result is an
actual union of the schools which
is to take practical effect after
the Chinese New Year. The
name of the Union University
has been changed to “ The Uni¬
versity of Nanking,” and the
Chinese name from f 3 § 3 C ^
to
The president of Nanking
University, Rev. A. J. Bowen,
was chosen as the president of
the University of Nanking, and
all the present teaching staff of
the two schools was retained,
which will provide for the new
year a staff of twelve (12) for¬
eign teachers and eighteen (18)
Chinese teachers.
The present site of Nanking
University is to be the centre of
the new union school, although
there are to be additions made
to the old union school so as to
accommodate 175 primary and
intermediate pupils.
The present dormitory of the
Nanking University is to be
more than doubled in size so as
to accommodate between 500
and 600 pupils. A new home is
to be built for the unmarried
men on the foreign teaching
staff, also six new residences for
their regularly appointed mis¬
sionaries who are on the staff.
Plans are also on foot for a
new science building and for a
library building.
It is believed that through
this union of forces a greater
and more thorough work can be
done thau has been possible up
to this time.
Kindiow Seminary and Normal
School. (See frontispiece .)
AH friends of educational
work will rejoice to hear of the
dedication of a theological
seminary and normal school in
the large city of Kinchow, located
on the Yangtse river several
days’ journey above Wuchang.
The new spacious building, con¬
taining twenty rooms, all told,
is the common property of the
Swedish Missionary Society and
the Swedish American Mission¬
ary Covenant. The Chinese
name of the school is jp$ Jp
At a conference in the early
part of 1907 the plan of co¬
operation was outlined. It met
with the enthusiastic approval
of the respective Boards in
Sweden and the United States.
Money was quickly subscribed
and the erection of a building
was begun and finished within
two years. Two residences were
also built, each containing
apartmeuts for two families, to
be used by the teaching staff
and their families. The grounds
are spacious and highly elevated,
bordering upon the Manchu-
Chinese wall on the east.
The course covers three years.
The requirements for entrance
are age nineteen and an educa¬
tion covering at least the cur-
185
Missionary News
1910]
riculmn of a “ Kao-teng-siao-
hsioh-tang.” The studies are
arranged so as to give them a
practical preparation for work
as teachers and preachers. The
curriculum can, of course, be
augmented to meet later de¬
mands arising in the progress
of the work.
In connection with the de¬
dication meetings, was held an
evangelist conference, which the
great majority of native workers
attended. These services for
discussion and prayer served to
deepen the spiritual life and
broadened our conception of the
mission problem. The dedica¬
tion service took place on Satur¬
day, December 4th. Addresses
of welcome were given in
Swedish, English and Chinese.
A short historical sketch was
given by Rev. S. M. Fredeu.
Rev. J. Skold delivered the
dedication sermon, dwelling
upon what God had wrought
during the last two decades and
suggesting future possibilities.
The two missions were well
represented by missionaries and
Chinese evangelists. Rev. God¬
dard and Dr. Sowerby, of the
American Church Mission, and
Mr. R. Suzuki, Japanese post¬
master at Shasi, also attended
this meeting. The Tartar Gene¬
ral, located at Kin-chou-fu, gave
evidence of his interest in the
enterprise by giving a large
wall motto and by visiting in
persou and viewing the edifice.
The two mission societies re¬
present missionary work along
the Yangtse river from Hwaug-
chow, below Hankow, to
Ichang, below the gorges of the
river. From Shasi, Kinchow
and Ichang they cover the
country northward to the Han
river, including Siangyang and
Fancheng. They are known by
one name in Chinese ft jH fif,
and the erection of a union
seminary and normal school
will, no doubt, prove a step to
the final organic union of tbe
Chinese churches on the entire
field represented by the two
societies.
Evangelistic Campaign in
Tientsin.
Perhaps the greatest special
effort ever made among the
Chinese churches of Tientsin
has just closed with many signs
of divine approval.
The representatives of the
various missions met in Novem¬
ber to consider the advisability
of securing the help of well-
known evangelists for a united
mission in December. As a
result Dr. J. H. Pyke, of Chang-
li ; Dr. J. W. Lowrie, of Paoting-
fu, and Dr. W. T. Hobart, of
Peking, were invited to hold two
weeks’ special services to cover
all the churches of the city.
Each Chinese-speaking mis¬
sionary promised to place him¬
self at the disposal of the evangel¬
ists for work as they might
suggest, while ail the Chinese
ministers were free to do the
same. The result was that each
day services were held in seven
churches, and the city was great¬
ly moved. The special feature
of the mission was that open
doors were the rule and besides
the members being revived many
outsiders who were attracted by
the large congregations were led
to give iu their names as en¬
quirers. It is estimated that
some thousands of people heard
the Gospel, and the churches
will all be helped in some mea¬
sure. It looks as though this
movement will be held yearly,
and iu this way an impetus is
given to the regular daily preach¬
ing. The three evangelists
186
commended themselves to all by
their helpful addresses, and
great and lasting good must be
the result in this great city. It
now rests with the resident mis¬
sionaries to carry on the work
with increased energy. Alas,
there are so few working among
this million people. Educational
missionaries are numerous, and
they are all needed, but to
think of four foreign missionaries
working within a radius of ioo
li of Tientsin, shows that the
church lias has not yet realized
its responsibility towards the
city of Tientsin. p p
Presbyterian Church of England.
Statistics of thb Formosa Mis¬
sion for. thr Yr ar 1908-1909.
Communicants on the Roll at
3tst October, 1908 . 3>354
Additions -
Adults baptised ... 211
Baptised in infancy,
received to com¬
munion . 34
Restored from suspen¬
sion . 18
Total Additions .. 263
Deductions :—
Deaths.116
Suspensions ... ... 49
Gone elsewhere ... 7
Total Deductions, 172
Net increase in unmber
of Communicants ... 91
Communicants on the Roll at
31st October, 1909 . 3,445
Members under Suspension ... 153
Children on Roll at 31st
October, 1908. 2,744
Net increase during year 157
Total Baptized children ... 2,901
Total Church Membership at
31st October, 1909 . 6,539
Native church givings during, 1908,
$9,698.
Native Ministers, 4; Elders, 114;
Deacons 176.
Foreign Missionaries: Men, 9;
Women, 4.
[February
Work Among the Chinese
Students in Japan.
Mr. J. M. Clinton reports that
some 4,000 students are still
studying in Japan. These, al¬
though fewer in number than
before, are of better quality, and
since the new r'egime in Peking
came in, more optimistic as to
their country’s future and less
revolutionary in their hopes.
The urgency of the work is
illustrated by the following facts:
(1) . In the first place, owing
to the great demand in China for
men trained in all professions,
many students are constantly
returning to take up various
positions.
(2) . Not a few are studying
here preparatory to entering
some college in America or
Europe. Now is the psychol¬
ogical momeut iu their lives
for influencing them for Chris¬
tianity.
The most important adr-auce
during the year is along the line
of Bible Study. Twenty men
have declared their purpose to
make Christianity known to the
people of China. The group
system of Bible study has been
largely used.
Land has been secured for the
Arthington building, which is
nearing completion and will be
opened this fall.
Over 700 Korean students live
in Tokio, of whom about 30
are ready for baptism. Rev.
Han, a Korean pastor from Seoul,
came oyer for a month’s work
among them.
A few friends have established
a scholarship fund for assisting
in the education of worthy and
needy Chinese and Korean stu¬
dents. The amount is now more
than 10,000 Yen.
The Chinese Recorder
1910]
The Month
18 7
The Month.
OPIUM.
In accordance witli the instructions
of the Kiangsn Opium Suppression
Bureau, the Shanghai Taotai has
ordered the Mixed Court Magistrate
to ascertain the number of dealers in
prepared opium in the Settlement,
where and under what firm names
they each carry on their business,
tlieir full names and the average
amount of opium they each sell a
day.
PROPOSED CABINET.
It is reported that as the Prince
Regent has been alive to the necessity
of creating, in China, a Cabinet, on
the plan of a Cabinet in foreign coun¬
tries, to serve as a responsible organ
at the head of the government, he
has commanded the Grand Council to
prepare for his perusal a memorandum
on the Cabinet constitutions in va¬
rious foreign countries. The council,
after due deliberations, has deemed it
best to collect separate translations
on the subject and from them to
compile a comparative epitome of
foreign Cabinets. The task will be
entrusted to Vice President Li Chia-
chii, who has studied the subject of
constitutions in Japan, with ample
assistance, so as to secure its early
completion. It has been reported lhat
Prince Clung will be appointed the
Chief Cabinet Minister, but the Prince
Regent is said to favour the appoint¬
ment being conferred on some en¬
lightened high official outside the
Imperial aristocracy. The likely can¬
didates are believed to be Grand
Councillors Shill Hsii, Na Tung and
Tai Hung-tze and Viceroy Chao Krh-
lis#n.
THE NATIONAL DEBT ASSOCIATION.
A notable feature of the past month
has been the manner in which the
idea of this association has taken root
in many quarters. P'rom native reports
we learn that the officials, gentry and
people in Peking are alike enthusiast¬
ically subscribing for the National
Debt Association. Officials subscribe
according to their ranks, but the peo¬
ple do so at their pleasure. The
government intends to advise officials
in all the provinces to make contribu¬
tions to the association. It is stated
that the Grand Council intended to
ask that a decree should be issued,
eulogizing the movement as an en¬
couragement, but a Grand Secretary
prevented this step, on the ground
that success is still a matter of un¬
certainty and that the Throne should
therefore withhold its recognition for
the time being.
Another report says that His Im¬
perial Highness the Prince Regent has
promised to band over half his annual
salary to this association. He also
intends to take half of the salaries of
the hereditary nobles as a contribu
tion towards the fund. The Chinese
Consul in Singapore has cabled to
the Waiwnpu that the Chinese re¬
sidents there are very anxious about
the matter and will be pleased to
establish an association for raising
funds for the purpose in hand. The
workers on the native press in Peking
have also established an association
for raising funds for paying off the
national debt,
RAILWAY LOANS.
The representatives of the Hupeh
Railway Association left Hankow for
Peking a few' days ago to oppose the
railway loans. The station was
decorated for the occasion, and there
were one thousand persons to see the
representatives off.
On the ibtli of the last Chinese
Moon the Hu Kwang Guild in Peking
called a special meeting to welcome
the Hupeh representatives. The
meeting was very largely attended,
and during the proceedings a Mr. Liu
said that the railway loan was a
matter of life and death to the people
of Hupeh. If the Board of Posts and
Communications acceded to the re¬
quest to have the railway loan
agreement cancelled, well and good ;
if not they would raise $25,000,000
and at once set to work to construct
another railway themselves. Mr. Liu
was followed by Mr. Pih, who said
that he had been living in retirement
for over ten years and had only come
to Peking under pressure from his
fellow-countrymen. If they could
not attain the object of their visit he
would not return to Wuchang, hut
would commit suicide and have liis
body left exposed on Tortoise Hill at
Hanyang until the completion of a
railway constructed by themselves.
Over 9,000 shares of the Hupeh Rail¬
way Company were subscribed on
that day.
188
The Chinese Recorder
[February, 1910
Missionary Journal.
MARRIAQE8.
AT Shanghai, 30th December, Rev.
R. T. Bryan, D.D., and Miss
Mamie Saij.ee, both S. Bapt. M.
AT Hangchow. 27th January, Mr. A.
V. March and Miss ELIZABETH
Herrioxt, both A. P. M.
BIRTHS.
AT Fengchen, 4th December, to Mr.
and Mrs. K. R. J. Hill, C. I. M.,
a daughter (Olia Elvira).
AT Tsincliow, Kansuh, 9th December,
to Rev. and Mrs. D. A. Gordon
Harding. C. I. M-, a daughter
(Marguerite de Berenger).
AT Chinkiang. 12th December, to Mr.
and Mrs. E. Maag, C. I. M., a
daughter (Olga).
At Sianfu, Shensi, 30th December, to
Mr. and Mrs. Ernest F. Borst-
Smith, E. Bapt. M., a son (Ernest
Clifford).
AT Hwangpei, 3rd January, to Rev.
and Mrs. L. C. F. Tomkins, L. M.
S. , a daughter (Mary Sibyl Katie).
AT Wusih, nth January, to Dr. and
Mrs. C. M. Ree, A. C. M., a
daughter.
AT Canton, 13th January, to Rev. T.
H. and Mrs. Caren, L. M. S., a
son.
DEATHS.
AT Luchenghsien, 18th December,
Miss M. E. Barraclough, C. I.
M., of typhus fever.
AT Weiliweifu, Honan, 8th January,
William Percy younger son of
Rev. W. II. and Mrs. Grant, C. P.
M,, aged one year and three months.
AT Canton. 13th January, EdiTh
Mayr, beloved wife of Rev. T. H.
Caren, L. M. S,
ARRIVALS.
13th December. Mr. and Mrs. L. PI.
E. Linder and child, C. I. M., re¬
turned from Sweden.
25th December. Mr. W. E. Hamp-
son, C. I, M., returned from England.
1st January, Rev. and Mrs. A. L.
Warnshuis, Ref. C. M.
1st January, Misses Leila Lybar-
gkr and Gertrude Tyler, both M.
E. M., from U. S. A.
3rd January, Miss B. BaumEr (ret.)
and Miss K. Skibkl, from Germany,
both C. I. M.
5th January, Misses SI. A. Pykk
and M. McDonald, both C. P. M.,
and both returned.
16th January, Misses E R. Ellis
and M. T. Logan. E. Bapt. M,; Mrs.
G. Blakie (ret.); Misses E M Axel-
son, L White, E Von Gunten
(ret ), N Bowen, all C and M A M.;
Rev and Mrs O R Wold and chil¬
dren. Hauge’s Syn M ; Mrs. F. R
Graves, A. C. M , and Dr. and Mrs.
Venable, A. P. M (South), all re¬
turned.
19th January, Rev and Mrs, J.
Jackson, D D., A. C. M.
2ist January, Miss M. E. Vander-
slice, A. B. C. F. M.; Misses E.
SeiiEMPP and A. M. Roloff, Evan.
Assn. M., and Miss R. E LYNCH, A.
P. M (South;.
22nd January, Dr. and Mrs. J.
Crockett, Ch. of Scot. M.; Miss E. A.
Burke, Holiness Movement Cli. of
Canada; Mr. M. D Morris, Apostolic
Faith M., and Rev. F, A, Fi ij>,
A. P, M. (ret.)
departures.
3rd January, Miss C. F. Tippei, C.
I. M., to England; Miss S. H. Hig¬
gins, A. C. M., to U. S. A.
4th January, Miss M. H. Foster,
C. M. M., to Canada.
7th January, Dr, and Mrs. W. MAR¬
SHALL and children, to England.
8th January, Mr. and Mrs D.
Toknvall and seven children, Misses
O. Olsen and A. Olson, all C. I. M.
and all to North America ; Rev. and
Mrs. G. Miles and children, Wes. M.,
to England.
nth January, Miss A. E. Paddock,
Y. W. C. A., to U. S. A. and Europe,
17th January, Rev. and Mrs. D. L.
Anderson, M. E. M. (South) ; Rev.
and Mrs. W. L. Beard, Y. M. C. A.,
and children ; Mrs. J. A. WALLACE
and child, all to U. S. A., Mr. and
Mrs. W. J. Hanna, C. I. M., to
Canada.
22nd January, Miss Elizabeth M,
Strok, M. E. M,
UNION MEDICAL, COUUEGE, PEKING
View from Hatamen.
THE CHINESE RECORDER
AND MISSIONARY JOURNAL
Published Monthly by the American Presbyterian Mission Press,
18 Peking Road, Shanghai, China
Editorial Board.
Editor-in-chief: Rev. G. F. Fitch, D.D.
Associate Editors: Rev. W. N. Bitton and Rev. D. W. Lyon.
Bishop J. W. Bashrord. Rev. A. Foster. Rev.D.MAcGii,LiVRAY,b.D.
Rev. K. W. Burt, m.a. Rev.J.C. Garritt,d.d, Mr. G. McIntosh.
Rt.Rev.Bishop Cassels. Rev. J. C. Gibson, d.d. Rev. G. F. Mosher.
Dr. J. Darkoch. Rev. D. E. Hoste. Rev. A. H. Smith, d.d.
VOL. XLI
MARCH, 1910
NO. 3
Editorial
The article by Mr. A. R. Saunders, which we publish in
this issue, is bound to furnish considerable material for thought
upon a most important topic. The writer
CttB an6 Houn* f ran kly states his belief that the policy ofChris-
tian missions in laying its greatest emphasis
on the work in the large centres in China has been wrong j
that the crux of the problem of evangelism is to be found in
the country districts of the Empire. Because the great majority
of the population of China live iu the country, therefore
mission work must be carried on where they are, and they
must be preached to in the country towns and in the hamlets
if they are to be reached at all. In support of this, Mr.
Saunders quotes the work of our Lord, saying the common
people heard Him gladly, and implies that this meant the people
from the countrysides. But did it? The ‘ common people ’
were as likely to be found in the cities as in country of Judgea,
and, indeed, would be most likely to congregate there. After
all the testimony of Our Lord to His divine mission was made
chiefly and finally in Jerusalem. '‘'•Beginning at Jerusalem
* * *
WE nota still further in this connection that no refer¬
ence is made to the example of the apostles
and no mention whatever is made of the chief
missionary apostle, St. Paul. As a foreign
missionary, it is acknowledged by all authorities that St.
Zbc 2lpo0tolic
flbetbob.
190
The Chinese Recorder
[March
Paul concentrated liis greatest efforts upon the big cities of the
Empire. If it is true, as Mr. Saunders says, that the country
people must be reached by us where they reside, or not at all,
then we might proceed to ask by what process the conversion of
the Roman Empire was effected ? That it is wrong as well as
impolitic on the part of the foreign missionary to neglect the
evangelization of the country people is altogether certain,
and it is well worth while to call definite attention to this fact.
His problem is rather concerned with the right point of applica¬
tion. He is a foreign missionary and not the final agent of
the evangelization of this Empire. He must evangelize and
show himself entirely at one with all efforts made to reach the
people, but it is not to be assumed that the responsibility for
the whole process rests upon him. The evangelization of this
Empire is a campaign, not a skirmish, and must be under¬
taken by the whole church of Christ. Ours should not be the
labour of occupation. If the parallel of the New Testament
and the early church is of any service in this connection,
it surely shows us that the foreign missionary has as his first
concern the establishing and the edifying of the Christiau
community, upon whom the responsibility of obedience to our
Lord’s command must in turn rest.
sji Jfc !({
The sociological study of the Nou Su people from the pen
of Mr. Hicks, one of the missionaries among them, which we
are able to present to our readers will, we trust,
have not only the result of deepening interest in
the work among the tribesmen of Yunnan and Kwei¬
chow but also serve to turn the thoughts of some of our
readers to the possibilities of research of a similar kind in the
districts around them. Very much work of this nature remains
to be done in all parts of China. Young missionaries would
be well advised to make the pursuit of some special line of
enquiry such as this a part of their study. Every region of
China has its peculiarities in such matters as folklore, and
much intimate knowledge of the mental attitude of the
common people is to be gained by a study of local traditions
as they bear upon worship and superstition. It is a good
and great thing to add to the general sum of knowledge by
such study, but better still is it to get into intimate touch with
the people to whom we are commissioned with the Word of
1910]
Editorial
191
Life and to learn liow to touch the springs of their thought.
Every discovery of the root principles which underlie the
debased religious practices of the people adds to the power of
the preacher to reach the soul he strives to uplift with the
life-giving message of eternal love. One of the purposes for
which the Recorder exists is to help forward all such knowl¬
edge as makes for greater efficiency in mission work, and a
knowledge of the problem we are set to solve here in China is
half our conquest.
* * *
We observe in the last issue of the East and the West a
very spirited protest against a practice, which is said to be
somewhat common among the missionaries of one
patience ^ ea< ^ u & missionary societies in India, of
baptising converts on simple profession of faith
without either instruction or due enquiry. It is asserted that
much danger arises to the Church of Christ from this method ;
that enquirers pass from other societies which make greater
demands on the converts in order to receive speedier admission
into the fold. Moreover, our contemporary asserts that this
course of action in itself constitutes a considerable hindrance to
projects of union.
China has not been without its sad experience along these
same lines. No one mission can be said to be guilty of this
above all others, but many missionaries, iti an undoubted zeal
for the salvation of men, have unduly pressed men and women
into the membership of the church to the detriment of the fair
fame of the Body of Christ. Very much wisdom needs to be
exercised in the baptism and reception of converts, and while
it is often a trial of both faith and patience to keep apparently
sincere enquirers waiting for many months under trial and
instruction, yet the dangers of unwise haste have been proven so
great that prudence, as well as care for the purity of the church,
calls for much care and deliberate enquiry. In a land such as
China the purity of the church and the character of the
converts must be one of the first considerations of the mission¬
ary worker.
* * *
There is always the temptation affecting the Christian
missionary enterprise that it shall fall a prey to the statistician.
The problem of the kingdom of God can never be set down in
192
The Chinese Recorder
[March
21ritbmetical
JProgre00.
terms of arithmetic. Believing thoroughly, as we do, in the
necessity for a deep and abiding faith in the power of the Holy
Spirit to convert men, and welcoming as we must
the eagerness to attempt great things as shown
by the missionaries of Korea in their recently
announced campaign for a million converts in this year 1910,
we should regret to see the method generally accepted. If
one million why not ten ? When missionaries become very
keen on numbers, it is too often the fact that the character of
the convert is neglected. There have been times in recent
history when, if numbers were the only consideration, Christian
missionaries in China might have baptised their millions.
The result, by common consent, would have been disastrous.
The same warning may be uttered in regard to the statement
concerning the number of days’ work needed to give the testi¬
mony of the Gospel to every thousand of the people. There
are classes of the population, as there are nations in the world,
which need close and constant study before the word of testi¬
mony can be made effective. Why is it that a method of
testimony is supposed to suffice for the non-Christian world
which it has never been dreamed of applying to the so-called
Christian populations of our home lands ? Missions to the
populace of Christian lands should have ceased ages ago if
they had been conducted on the principles which some would
apply to work among non-Christian peoples.
*
*
In the most interesting account of the year’s work
published by the Y. M. C. A. in China and Korea reference
is made to a canvas which has been conducted
^ one ^ ie sta ^ workers, concerning the
difficulties which stand in the way of the accept¬
ance of Christianity on the part of many Chinese young men.
Opposition in the home, filial devotion (the wrougfulness of
disobedience), devotion to Confucianism as against a Western
system, the foreign connections of the missionary,—these are
reasons advanced along the line of personal difficulty. Another
class of hindrances arises from the wave of materialism,
scepticism, rationalism and even atheism, which is sweeping
over the thought and education of the land. The Bible is not
believed by many, and the statement is current that religion
has no longer a hold over the nations of the West. One
1910]
Editorial
193
correspondent thinks the teaching of Christianity is made too
abstract, and that the doctrines of the Trinity, the Incarnation
and so on, are also sometimes a hindrance. The social bar
which must follow the thorough adoption of Christian faith
is an objection on the part of some. It is to be hoped that
more of detail in regard to these hindrances will be given for
the help and guidance of missionary workers than there is
room for in the pages of an annual report. It is very needful
to have a full knowledge of the difficulties that confront the
progress of the Gospel amongst such a class as is touched by
the Y. M. C. A. The summary here reproduced would seem
to show that in the realm of apologetic literature we are sadly
lacking a method of apology written with a definite view to
the psychological condition of the Chinese mind and with a
sufficient knowledge of the Chinese environment.
Many of our readers are aware of the fact that a Chinese
national industrial exhibition, planned on a great scale and
thoroughly representative of all sides of Chinese
art an d commerce, is to be opened in Nanking
from the first of May next. The missionaries in
Nanking, rightly convinced that this exhibition presents a
field of opportunity for Christian labour too good to be lost,
are appealing for assistance to undertake the carrying on of a
Christian campaign in connection with the exhibition and have
secured sufficient land for this purpose. Funds are required for
the building. It is their desire that the Christian church of
China shall share in the work of the exhibition by giving
concrete evidence of tbe activities of the Christian church
in educational, literary, philanthropic and evangelistic work.
The committee of the exhibition will be glad to receive from
all parts of China photographs and models of school and
hospital buildings and their work, aud will appreciate any
material which could be used to illustrate the practical
accomplishments of missionary work. The Secretary is Dr.
F. B. Whitmore, and he will be glad to hear from any who
may have it in their power to assist this cause. Will mission¬
aries all over China remember the claims and needs of this
exhibition enterprise and make its successful accomplishment
over the eight months of its working a matter of constant
prayer ?
194
The Chinese Recorder
[March
A striking advance is to be chronicled in the figures
which are now available concerning the work of Sunday
Schools in China. At the World’s Sunday
Suntae Schools. Scl, ° o1 Co " ve,,lion IleW iu Rome >■> * 9°7 tlie
total number of schools was reported as 105 :
teachers, 1,053; scholars, 5,264. Figures which have been
gleaned from last year’s mission reports show 1,987 schools,
4,125 teachers and 71,598 scholars, and these figures are
obviously incomplete. It would be quite safe to assert that
the total number of scholars in connection with the Mission
Sunday Schools of China exceeds a hundred thousand. This
progress is extremely gratifying and is significant of the
tremendous field which lies before the Sunday School move¬
ment. There are several large missions in China, of long
standing in the Empire, whose Sunday Schools are altogether
inadequate to the figures they report for church membership.
This reveals an element of special weakness in policy and
administration, and we trust that one result of the increased
attention which is being given to Sunday School matters
will be a Sunday School organization in connection with
every missionary society and the establishment of a school in
connection with every mission church. The secret of the
conversion of the nation in this generation lies more with the
youth than with the adult. Press onward with the Sunday
School.
* * *
We have so often had occasion to comment upon the
slackness which has followed the promulgation of schemes of
reform in China and the failure of those who are
responsible for their administraton, from high
officials downward, to treat them seriously, that it
is with unusual satisfaction attention is now drawn to the
increasingly successful nature of the opium reform. China
has done more than her own programme of suppression
called for at this stage of the reform and has given unmistake-
ble evidence of the sincerity with which she asked the co¬
operation of the civilized Powers in an attempt to shorten
the period of total abolition. In this connection also we are
thankful for the action of Bishop Price, of the C. M. S., in
calling, through the Archbishop of Canterbury, the considera¬
tion of the British Secretary for Foreign Affairs and the
British public to the hindrances placed in the way of hastening
1910]
Editorial
195
forward measures for the entire suppression of opium sales by
the action of a leading firm of merchants in Foochow. In her
endeavour to force the pace China should receive all possible
support and no suspicion of hindrance from those who are her
well-wishers. Any attempt to bolster up the dying opium
trade against the public opinion of China is poor business policy,
not to speak of the moral aspects of the case. It will not pay
reputable foreign firms to have it known that their business
methods are soiled by participation in a universally condemned
trade. The insistence upon the ‘ pound of flesh ’ which the
treaties allow may be legally just enough but “ morally in¬
defensible” and, moreover, extremely unwise.
The great question of constitutional reform is certainly
moving. Local government, both for prefectures and districts,
is now being pressed forward, and a certain
Bnotber Step. 0 f p 0wer j s bound to fall into the hands
of these local bodies. A great change cannot fail to come over
the public life of China as opportunity is thus provided for the
expression of public opinion. The Chinese government will
ere long be facing the problem which lay before Britain after
the passing of the Reform Bill, namely, how to educate its
masters. The proposed Parliament of China is to have its
representatives from every province, on a basis of population.
Provision is also made for the presence of Mongols, Tibetans,
Hakkas, Ikas, Lolos, and Yaos. The sympathy and prayers
of the Christian population of the Empire will follow all these
developments.
Attention is also being given at the present time, and not
an instant too soon, to the reform of the judicial system of
China. Methods of procedure in foreign countries have been
examined and a system based on these, as they are consistent
with the circumstances of China, has been presented to
the Throne and adopted. The functions of justice and civil
administration are to be clearly differentiated and courts
instituted. This development, which might mean much to
the welfare of the people of China, will be watched with deep
interest. No land is truly civilized where justice is bought
and sold, and the trust of the people in the righteous adminis¬
tration of the law is one of the surest tests of pure and worthy
government.
196
The Chinese Recorder
[March, 1910
ftbe Sanctuary
“ The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availelh much." —St. Jttuei v, 16.
■< p or where two or three are gathered, together in my Name , there am / in the midst of
them."— St. Matthew xviii, 20.
An Evening HyMN.
Before the ending of the day,
Creator of the world, we pray
That with Thy wonted favour, Thou
Wouldst be our Guard and Keeper
now.
From all ill dreams defend our eyes,
From nightly fears and fantasies;
Tread under foot our ghostly foe,
That no pollution we may know.
O Father, that we ask be done,
Through Jesus Christ, Thine only Son,
Who with the Holy Ghost and Thee,
Shall live and reign eternally.
Amen.
Pray
That you may never forget the
importance of evangelizing the mil¬
lions who live outside the city walls
in China. (P. 199)*
For such a measure of adaptability
to new conditions that you may not
be one of these to become discouraged
and give up this work to which God
has called you. (P. 199)-
For more itineration and more
carrying of the Gospel to the people
in the country. (P. 201).
For any correction of present meth¬
ods that may be needed in -order to a
real forward movement. (P. 202).
For more itinerant preachers to
balance and extend the work being
done by mission schools. (P. 202).
For more itinerant preachers to sup¬
plement the work being done by the
medical missionaries. (.!’• 203).
For more itinerant preachers to
carry on more widely by the human
voice what is being done by Christian
literature. (P. 203'.
That every Station may be suf¬
ficiently manned for some to be set
apart from all details of administration
for the direct preaching and teaching
of the Gospel. (P. 203 ).
For an increase of efficient leaders
in the evangelistic work, IP. 204),
For leaders really competent for the
training of the Chinese evangelists.
(P. 204.'.
That you may always be prepared to
do yourself anything and everything
you ask of your Chinese colleague.
(P. 205),
For a ready insight such as will
make clear the ways in which China
is particularly adapted for ready
approach on the part of a Christian
evangelist. (P. 205).
That all missions may come to
realize more and more the present
neglect of country work. (P. 207).
For the evangelization of the Nou
Su, (P. 210 ff.).
For the Union Normal College,
Wuchang. (P. 220).
That all missions may push forward
towards the independent, self-sup¬
porting church. (P. 224'.
That you may “ Beware when all
men speak well of you.” (P. 225).
That the editors of Chinese papers
may be a force of upbuilding in the
years to come. (P. 228.)
A Prayer for The World.
O Lord, make bare Thy holy arm
in the eyes of all the nations, that all
the ends of the world may see Thy
salvation; show forth Thy right¬
eousness openly in the sight of the
heathen, that the kingdom of Thy
Christ may be established over all
mankind; hasten the coming of the
end when He shall deliver up the
kingdom unto Thee, aud haying put
down all rule, and authority, and
power, and put all things under his
feet, He Himself shall be subject
unto Thee, and with Thee in the unity
of the Holy Ghost, Three Persons in
One God, shall be our All in All.
Amen.
Give Thanks
F'or the deserved popularity of the
medical missionary work. (P. 224),
For the harmonious cooperation in
mission colleges and for its reaction
in the home churches, (F. 224).
Contributed Articles
The Problem of Reaching the Masses in China*
REV. ALEX. R. SAUNDERS, CHINA INLAND MISSION,
YANGCHOW.
HE question of reaching the masses, even in a country of
such limited area and population as Britain, has per¬
plexed leading Christian men for many years, and all
kinds of agencies have been brought into operation to effect
this end. Specially qualified workers have organized open-air
meetings at the race courses, public parks, and other places
where the common people are wont to assemble in large num¬
bers. Sunday night services in theatres have been introduced
and much useful work has been done in this way to reach the
non-church-going masses, and what shall we say of the almost
countless number of voluntary workers in every city and town
who have been engaged for many years in house-to-house dis¬
tribution of Christian literature ? I have but mentioned a few
of the many means that have been used to reach the masses in
Britain, and I suppose the same could be said of America, but
there was still a wide field left for the Salvation Army to make
their unique efforts to reach classes that were still untouched.
After so many years of constant and zealous work who
would venture even to suggest that the masses in Britain, or
America, have been anything like reached ? What, then, can
we say in regard to this much greater problem of reaching the
masses in China with its population of 400,000,000 ?
To discuss a question of such magnitude, in a manner at
all satisfactory, the time at our disposal is far too short, and I
must be concise and practical in what I have to bring forward.
I shall consider the subject under the following six divisions :—
I. What class of the population of China mainly constitute
the masses ?
II. Where shall we chiefly concentrate our efforts for their
evangelization ?
* A paper read before the Shanghai Missionary Association on Tuesday,
7th December, 1909.
Note —Readers of the Recorder are reminded that the Editorial Board
assumes no responsibility for the views expressed by the writers of articles
published in these pages.
198
The Chinese Recorder
[March
III. What do we mean by "reaching the masses?"
IV. How far do present methods solve the problem ?
V. A plan for the evangelization of the common people.
VI. Difficulties and hindrances. The remedy.
I. What Classes of the Population of China mainly
constitute the Masses?
Before we can make up our minds as to what classes of
the people make up what we understand by “the masses,”
or the common people, we need to know the general conditions
of the country concerned, for ignorance of these will lead us
to very wrong conclusions on the subject we are now consider¬
ing. We could not possibly make a greater mistake than to
suppose that the masses in China are necessarily composed of
the same classes of the population as Britain or America, and
though some may think that this is a point hardly worth the
while it has a most important bearing upon what I have to say
to-night. It is said of John Wesley, the man who reached the
masses as no one else has done, that he always went straight
for where the tall chimneys were thickest. John Wesley was
familiar with the country he laboured in, and he knew that
England, being a country of huge manufacturing interests, the
great crowds of the common people would be found among the
artizan and labouring classes in the large towns and cities.
So it becomes our duty to know China and the people we
have come to labour amongst if we would effectively reach
them with the Gospel.
The manufacturing industries of China, though in recent
years increasing, cannot even now be said to amount to very
much, and the artizan and labouring classes of the cities form
but a very small proportion of the population, so in this
respect there is a very great difference from our own lands.
It is not necessary to live long in China to discover that, above
all else, it is an agricultural land, and that the great mass of
its people are, in some way or other, connected with tillage of
the soil. The scholars come first in China’s social scale,
because from their ranks the officials are selected, but how
often have we found in inland China that the literati are
themselves farmers 1 It often happens, too, that the shop¬
keepers and their assistants in inland cities are owners of land,
and they are required each year to help in the harvest field.
While the scholar ranks first in the social scale the farmer
1910] The Problem of Reaching the Masses in China
199
comes second, because he is the man on whom the country
depends for its revenue. If we could take a census of the
various classes that comprise China’s population we would
find that the country people far outnumber any other class,
and if our aim is to reach the masses, our first concern must
be for the millions who live outside the city walls. Has it not
been among the simple country folk that the Gospel has first
and most deeply taken root ? Are we not reminded by this,
also, that it was the common people, flocking from all the
country sides, that heard gladly during the earthly ministry of
our Lord Jesus Christ ?
Brethren, you will have perceived already that my plea is
to be for the country districts of China, but in the next point
of my paper I wish to take you a step further in the considera¬
tion of this side of the question.
II. Where shall we chiefly concentrate our Efforts
for their Evangelization ?
Having already come to the conclusion that the agricul¬
tural classes very largely make up what we call the masses in
China, it is very easy to locate their whereabouts, but the
question we are now to consider is not so much where they live
as where we can best reach them with the Gospel. Can we
devise any means by which we may gather those scattered
millions into the large towns and cities, so as to simplify the
work of their evangelization ? Or, shall we go to where they
are ? Looked at from this point of view the question now
before us is a most pertinent one and deserves our most careful
consideration.
We who have come from the West most naturally think
of the great mass-meetings we have either witnessed or taken
partin in our own great cities, to which great crowds of country
people have also flocked, and the question at once arises
whether the same methods will not have like results in China.
Before we came to China we had heard much of its great
walled cities, and we had pictured to ourselves immensely
populous centres. Some of us who were already engaged in
evangelistic work in the home lands may have had day dreams
of a similar work in China. Have these been realized? I
fear not, and a few, indeed, who came to China full of hope,
returned home again sadly disappointed and discouraged after
only a few months in the country.
200
The Chinese Recorder
[March
Very many of China’s cities are not the great populous
centres we had thought they were ; for, as a matter of fact,
some are but small tumble-down villages surrounded by a wall.
It is perfectly true that near the coast, and for some distance
up the great waterways, there are large and populous cities,
made so by the immense export and import trade demanded by
the millions toiling in the fields beyond. There are also large
and populous cities, such as the provincial capitals, that owe
even their very existence to their official status rather than to
any amount of trade carried, but these are not fair samples of
the average cities in China. Take Nanking, or Soochow, as
an example ! I have no hesitation in saying that if the
privileged classes were removed from either of these cities there
would be a surprisingly small number of people left. Even
the shop-keepers, being largely dependent on the officials and
their retainers for their trade, would find their means of liveli¬
hood gone and would betake themselves to other parts. If
this is true of provincial capitals it is equally true of most
prefectural cities, and many of the county seats would have no
existence at all but for the official and his retainers. To go no
further afield than Kiangsu, for example, I know of one city
where the only buildings within its walls are the premises of the
Yamun, and yet another where all you can see are heaps of
brickbats and a few scattered houses. I could describe city
after city in the same desolate condition. A missionary, who
had lived all his years in China near the coast, paid a visit to
an inland mission station, and he was so struck by the deserted
appearance of the city that he asked the resident missionary,
“Where are the people ? ” The country people only visit such
cities to pay their taxes, or when they have a lawsuit on, and
their regular business is done at the surrounding market towns.
I have gone into this matter rather fully, for I have been
led to believe, rightly or wrongly, that there is an opinion
among many missionaries that to reach the masses in China it
is in the cities where we must concentrate our efforts. If not
in the cities where, then, are we to reach the people ? Where
are we to find the multitudes of common people ? About
Easter time, when the beautiful spring weather is coming on,
take a trip into the country, anywhere you like to go, and lift
up your eyes and look on the fields. They are white already
to harvest. Look on all sides of you! The people literally
swarm on the face of the earth ! Where do they live ? Try,
1910] The Problem of Reaching the Masses in China 201
as I have done many times, to count the villages and hamlets
that dot the land, all within range of your vision. It is
impossible ! They are so many, and we can but offer a prayer to
God, who not only knows the number of hamlets and of
individuals, but has also counted the very hairs of their heads,
that He will raise up many to care for the uncared-for
multitudes.
Not only are the masses in China mostly composed of the
people living in the country, but if we would reach them with
the message of salvation we must go to where they live, and
this work can only be done by itineration.
Some may raise the objection that I am advocating
country evangelization to the exclusion of much needed work
in the cities. Not so, for by the plan which I purpose laying
before you ample time is allowed for that. The point I wish
to emphasize is that as the vast majority of the common people
are to be found in the country, and can only be reached by the
messenger going to them, our efforts must be mainly concen¬
trated on the villages and hamlets of this great empire.
III. What do we mean by “ Reaching the Masses /”
The command of our risen Tord is very clear : to preach
the Gospel to every creature. But as to all that is actually
implied in the commission there is considerable difference of
opinion among missionaries. Some hold that the work we are
called to do, will not be completed till every individual has
been won to Christ; while others go to the other extreme and
maintain that it is to preach the Gospel throughout the world
for a witness only, even if the greater number should hear it
but once. I prefer to-night to take a view lying midway
between those two extremes and give in the words of oue of
the resolutions of the Centenary Conference my basis for the
evangelization of this great people. The resolution referred to
has the following words: “To reach every individual in the
empire with such a knowledge of the world-saving mission,
the redeeming death and resurrection, and the heart-transform¬
ing power of Jesus Christ, as will suffice for the acceptance of
Him as a personal Saviour. M There is room, perhaps, for
some difference of opinion as to what will suffice, but for our
purpose this evening we will take the following for a basis :
To give an average of fifty days preaching to every thousand
of population.
202
The Chinese Recorder
[March
There is one other point in the consideration of this
subject that is of the utmost importance and must not be lost
sight of. The present generation is the only one we can reach,
and there is absolutely no ground whatever for anyone to think
that what is left undone by us will be done by the generation
following. What we owe to this generation can never be paid
by those who succeed us. They will have their own genera¬
tion to serve as we have ours now, and it becomes our bounden
duty to see to it that no time is lost to give to every creature
in China a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. This
adds urgency to our commission.
IV. How far do Present Methods solve the Problem ?
At the time of the Centenary Conference there were in
China 3,746 foreign missionaries (including wives) and 9,904
Chinese workers, and all of them are, no doubt, doing most
useful work in connection with the various departments of
missionary service. The question for us to consider now is,
Are the masses in China being reached by the methods now
employed by that large number of missionaries and Chinese
workers ? I sincerely hope that our brethren engaged in the
various forms of institutional work will not think that, in any¬
thing I say, I am finding fault with the excellent work they
are doing. Nothing could be farther from my own thoughts,
and my only desire is to face this problem fairly. Let me say
at once that my firm conviction is that the work of evangelis¬
ing the masses is not being done by present-day methods, and
there is a very great need for a forward movement in China.
Missionaries have told me that they did not believe in
itinerating work ; there were very few results from it, and it
was their opinion that the conversion of China’s millions to
Christ would be brought about by educational work. We
all appreciate the valuable work done by our brethren in the
Christian schools, but I feel perfectly sure that they them¬
selves would agree with me in this, that they are touching
a very small and select class of the Chinese only. This
problem is not being, and cannot be, solved by the Christian
educational work.
The medical missionary comes a good deal nearer it, for
his noble self-denying work is certainly among the common
people, and poor suffering creatures will come many miles to
receive treatment from the far-famed foreign physician. Still
203
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medical work is limited. There are vast regions, teeming with
people, where the fame of the foreign doctor has never spread,
and if we were dependent upon medical work to bring these
people within the sound of the Gospel our generation would
be gone long before the work could be anything like done.
Itinerant preachers in much larger numbers than we have ever
known, are needed to supplement the work done by the medical
missionary.
Our brethren engaged in the work of producing Christian
literature form an indispensable auxiliary to the great body of
preachers, and we are most grateful for the splendid work they
are doing. We need to remind ourselves, however, that the
illiterate in China far outnumber those who can read, and not
all who read can understand what they read. The only medium
by which the vast majority of China’s common people can be
reached is by the human voioe, and the number of itinerating
preachers must be multiplied many times over.
What is being done by the evangelistic wing of the mis¬
sionary army ? Are they, by present-day methods, reaching
the masses in any way that assures us that this generation will
hear the Gospel before our time of service is done ? Many of
them have their hands so full of mission station details that it
would surprise you to know how very few of our evangelistic
missionaries are free to give much time to the more aggressive
part of the work known as itineration. A whole generation
has passed since China was declared open to the itinerant
preacher, and we should humble ourselves before God, who
has entrusted us with so great a commission, as we think of
the vast regions where the feet of the bringer of good tidings
have never trod.
Right here in this province of Kiangsu there is a district,
with which I am somewhat familiar by occasional itinerant
work, with an area of 5,000 square miles and a population of
nearly five millions, and I know that very little itinerant work
has been done in any part of it by either foreign missionary or
Chinese evangelist. There are other districts in Kiangsu
almost equally needy, but what of the more inland and less
favoured provinces of this empire ? If the masses that are yet
in gross darkness are to have even one offer of salvation the
Work must be done by the itinerant evangelist, and there is as
much need for such work to be done in Kiangsu as in any
other province of China.
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V. A Plan for the Evangelisation of the Common People.
That the masses in China must be evangelized by the
Chinese themselves is a truism that needs no discussion in this
paper. Whilst giving full recognition to this fact I wish to
bring before you the great need there will be for efficient
leadership in this work. In doing so I would emphasize the
fact that leadership in a great evangelistic movement need not,
and will not, be restricted to the missionaries, for God is raising
up among the Chinese themselves men well able to take a fore¬
most place in connection with this branch of missionary service.
Leaders will be needed not only for the actual work of
evangelism but also for the training of the Chinese evangelists.
Our educational institutions do not, and cannot, furnish the
men and women needed for this work, but what plan could
be better than the combination of work and training after the
manner of the training of the Twelve ?
The time has come in China when all the missions should
unite in a great effort for the thorough evangelization of the
masses in China, and in no branch of missionary enterprise
is there a grander opportunity for union than in this. Those
of us who attended the meetings of the Federation Council,
recently held at Nanking, had ample opportunity of proving
how possible this is, and I have no hesitation in suggesting
this as being perfectly feasible. If we, the missionaries, set
ourselves with united front and zeal to the accomplishment of
this stupendous work, not only will the Chinese Christians
respond nobly to our appeal for evangelists but we shall see
our Lord’s words fulfilled when He said, “That the world
may believe that Thou hast sent me.”
I want to lay special emphasis upon the need for real, and
not mere nominal, leadership in a movement such as this
would be, for upon that its success greatly depends. This
work will never be done by missionaries who think they can
direct from central stations the operations of evangelists in the
field ; they must themselves be leaders in the work. I do not
see any reason why one missionary should not be able to
personally lead a band of twenty-five evangelists and at the
same time give the training needed to equip them for the
work. Perhaps some one will sigh and say: “Would that I
had twenty-five Chinese evangelists to lead in such a work,
how gladly would I do it! ” Well, cheer up brother, and go
to work with the one or two you have got, and I am persuaded
205
1910] The Problem of Reaching the Masses in China
that if some such plan of thorough evangelization, as I am
about to suggest, is followed, recruits will not be wanting, and
before very long you will have the number aimed at. I give
the number twenty-five, not in any way as a suggestion that we
should secure that number of evangelists before we begin to
work out the plan, but as the probable limit of one man’s
ability to work effectively with.
In the very truest sense a missionary must be a leader of
men, and in no department of work is this more necessary than
in that of evangelization. A man called to be a leader will
always treat his Chinese co-evangelist as a fellow-worker and
will avoid giving him anything to do that he would expect his
servant to do. Never expect more from your Chinese brother
than you are prepared to do yourself. Are there books and
tracts to be carried ? Take a share of them yourself. Do you
expect the Chinese evangelist to walk out to the villages?
Be prepared to do so yourself, unless there is some real
physical reason for not doing so. Ever remember that we
are to be leaders in God’s work and not lords over God’s
heritage.
How shall we go about this huge work of evangelizing, in
a thorough way, the masses in China ? Let the missionary,
with his band of twenty-five Chinese evangelists or as many as he
may have, make his headquarters at one of the large market
towns; and it may be well to note right here that China is
wonderfully adapted for carrying out some such plan for reach¬
ing the masses as the one I suggest to-night. Wherever I
have been I have found, and I think it is so in all other parts,
that all the villages and hamlets cluster round their own
market town within a very few miles of it. God has thus
set before us an open door and easy to enter. Taking up
quarters in the inns, or better still renting an empty house for
the time of your stay at that centre, the work of evangelizing
the surrounding villages and hamlets can be proceeded with.
Sufficient time should be given at each centre to carry out the
work according to some such basis as the one I have already
suggested—an average of fifty days preaching to every thousand
of population—and the results will well repay you for the
time spent.
While a cast-iron rule cannot be laid down it is possible
to offer helpful suggestions as to how the work may be
done, and this only is my desire to-night. The leader
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and his staff of evangelists having established themselves in
suitable quarters must get to work at once. Let there be
no delays, for nothing will be more hurtful to the young
Chinese worker than a waste of time. Let the morning hour
be set apart for systematic Bible study, for the work of
evangelization must go hand in hand with teaching, and the
thorough training of the evangelists must ever be considered
by the leader as a most important part of this work. The
morning Bible study should be followed by at least a half
hour for united, definite, and believing prayer for the work of
the day. They should now go forth in couples ; the leader
making one of a set, but in this he must exercise the utmost
care not to give any appearance of partiality to any one
evangelist. What could be more hurtful to the whole band of
workers than the partiality manifested by the leader for any
one of them? and nothing could more surely ruin his own
influence among them. By far the best plan would be for the
leader to take a different colleague each day, and taking all
of them in turn. Let the leader himself be an example in
all tilings to the Chinese evangelists, ever keeping in mind
that eternal issues depend on the work they are doing.
All the villages and hamlets that belong to that market
town should be thoroughly worked and all possible means-
used to induce to come into the open air to hear the Gospel.
Singing may at times prove a good attraction, at other times
house to house tract distribution may be done to invite the
inhabitants to come to the preaching ; the beating of a gong
might also be used to arouse the villagers if other means failed.
By all means get the people within the sound of the Gospel;
the command of Jesus Christ compels us. If the baud of
workers numbers twenty-six, no less than thirteen villages will
be visited each day, but many of them will require more than
one day’s preaching. The foreign worker will find many ham¬
lets which he will be unable to enter, but these can be left for
his Chinese colleagues while he confines his work to the more
accessible places. On market days one set of two evangelists
should be appointed to preach to the crowds on the market
place.
Returning at nearly the close of the day, the whole company,
coming from thirteen different villages, will meet at the centre.
A careful record of the day’s work should be made, the villages
visited should be mapped, and a special note made of any
1910] The Problem of Reaching the Masses in China 207
interesting cases met with. The evening will give an
excellent opportunity for an evangelistic meeting, and I would
venture to predict that, if notice was given of it in each village
visited, not a few of those who had heard during the day would
attend. It is of no use to go fishing if you do not draw the
net, and these evening meetings would just furnish the desired
opportunity for gathering together enquirers. Classes for
instruction and regular services for worship would surely follow.
After such a full and happy day of service who would not be
ready for another hour of Bible study and a half hour to
unitedly praise God for all the work done ?
Should anyone think that I am unduly pressing to the
front the importance of country evangelization, even to almost
excluding work in the cities, let me remind you that country
work is being sadly neglected, and there is real need to em¬
phasize it in the discussion of reaching the masses. But there
is no need for alarm that the city work will be neglected.
From a considerable experience in country evangelization I
am inclined to think that not more than six months in each
year can be spent at it to real advantage, chiefly because of the
farmer’s busy seasons. The missionary will have to be guided
by circumstances. The remaining six months in each year
could be devoted to city evangelistic work, special Bible classes
for the evangelists, and a much needed rest for the Chinese
worker as well as for the missionary.
I have dealt entirely with country work for the following
two reasons: First, I am convinced that the great mass of
China’s common people are in the country, and must be reach¬
ed where they are. Second, it is only too evident that country
work is much neglected, and the importance of it must be
emphasized. It is not a question of reaching the country
people through the cities, or of moving the cities through the
country, but in China the people must be reached where they
are, or they will not be reached at all. In the remaining six
'months of the year there is ample time for all the city work
that can possibly be done.
It is for the missionary societies to act unitedly for the
occupation of the whole field and to put into the field as
quickly as possible as many men and women as they can. If
the right kind of missionaries are put to this work they will
soou draw to themselves like-minded fellow-workers from
among the Chinese,
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VI. Difficulties and Hindrances. The Remedy.
That difficulties and hindrances will confront the worker
for God in every land is perfectly certain, and China is no
exception. We need to remember, however, that these are
allowed to come, not to deter us but that we may overcome
through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Perhaps the one difficulty met with more than any other
is the unpopularity of itinerant preaching among both mission¬
aries and our Chinese brethren. If missionaries are not keen
on this kind of work is it to be wondered at that the Chinese
take to it slowly ? We very much need a revival of zeal in the
desire F reach the masses, and, being leaders, we expect that
revival should begin with the missionary.
I have on many occasions conversed with Chinese workers
in the charge of city street chapels on the subject of going out
to the people, but they have usually showed utter lack of in¬
terest in itinerant preaching and have sought to excuse them¬
selves by saying that they had been appointed to chapel work.
Wasting time day after day in an empty chapel is a matter of
indifference to many, and it seems as if it mattered little
whether the people came in or not, so long as the worker
remains at his post. Surely we need men who will go out
after the people, but let us take heed lest we may be found to
be responsible for the coldness of our Chinese brethren.
Is it not true that very often the post of itinerant preacher,
or colporteur, is held only as a stepping stone to what is re¬
garded by the average Chinese as something better—in charge
of an out-station ? From experience I can affirm that there is
very little desire among many of the Chinese Christians to
engage in the more arduous work of itineration ; they much
prefer the indoor w T ork. Do not many missionaries also shrink
from it ? Some will probably tell you they do not believe in
it. Let the missionaries get filled with enthusiasm for this
work, and the fire will spread very quickly among the Chinese.
Let such missionaries visit the Christian schools and colleges
to tell of the glorious work they are doing among the masses,
and I venture to say that the fire with which they tell the story
will spread through the schools and colleges, and we shall
have no reason to mourn as we do now that so few are offering
for the evangelistic field. A zealous missionary is the cure for
a cold and indifferent church in China as elsewhere. Oh for
missionaries full of the fire of the Holy Ghost for the work of
209
19 i 0 ] The Problem of Reaching the Masses in China
reaching the untouched millions of China! We shall then
have many Spirit-filled Chinese evangelists.
A very serious hindrance to this work is the unworthy
character of many of the Chinese now engaged in it. It is
most natural for missionaries to desire all the Chinese help
they can get, but this has too often led to the employment
of very questionable men. Men have been employed to preach
the Gospel far too soon after they had professed faith in Christ ;
they were yet carnal, and Christ was not formed in them.
They were put up as teachers of others while they themselves
sorely needed to be taught. The result has been, as is man¬
ifest at the revivals that are now taking place, that they have
remained carnal. I heard a dear Chinese brother say not long
ago that of the more than 200,000 professing Christians in
China a very large number were still unregenerate, and of the
already large army of Chinese workers very many knew noth¬
ing of the new birth.
I was once asked by a missionary brother going 011 fur¬
lough to take the oversight of his four colporteurs. I did not
continue-these men in work for more than a month, for in¬
stead of going the trip I had mapped out for them they threw
their books into the river and spent their days in a neigh¬
bouring city in idleness and gambling. Their sales had
averaged so very little that it paid them to do this.
A missionary travelling on a passenger boat overheard a
conversation between two Chinese on the subject of the price
of a church membership certificate, and it was all too con¬
clusive that in a certain city (the name of which was given) a
regular trade in membership certificates was carried on by the
Chinese evangelist in charge.
One day a man called to see me in Yangchow, and wished
my assistance in the recovery of certain articles of clothing,
which he said had been stolen from him in the lodging house
where he had spent the night. The mail was a colporteur
employed by a missionary in another city, and I afterwards
found out that the place he had lost bis clothes in was a brothel.
Such things exist to-day, my brethren, among some of the
men whom we employ to preach the Gospel, and such men
stand as barriers to the spread of the Gospel among the masses.
We do well not to blind ourselves to the fact, but rather let us
seek the remedy. None of us can ferret out these evils, but
we have recently had abundant proof that God can make them
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[March
bare by His Spirit. Do we dread the revelations that revival
will bring ? Dread them not. These men must either be
converted or driven from the field. God can do it in revival.
Let us seek revival at all costs. Are we willing to pay the
cost? Let us face it like men and travail in prayer till God
shall graciously revive us all. Only a revival of Pentecostal
power can enable us to reach the masses in China, and this can
only come through a cleansed church. We, the missionaries,
need revival also. May God help us to seek it as if we meant
it. Amen.
The Nou Su People of the Neighbourhood of
Chao-tong in Yunnan
(The people are commonly called Lolo)
BY THE REV. C. E. HICKS, CHAO-TONG-FU, YUNNAN.
W HEN the Chinese first entered the district now known
as Chao-tong (flg jj|) they found the plain already
occupied by Nou Su. According to tradition these
people were easily overcome, for they generally preferred migra¬
tion to fighting, and many trekked across the Kin-sha river
into the country now known as the Man-tsz territory. Secure
in these mountain fastnesses they have never ceased to harass
the Chinese, who now dwell on the land which they themselves
once tilled or at least inhabited. Others remained on the plain,
but gradually the pressure of the •§? jfc, as the Chinese are
called, has driven them into the remoter districts, and these
interesting people are now mostly to be found among the
mountains and away from the highroads of Chinese travel.
This pressure is still being exerted, and districts which a
few years ago were almost entirely occupied by Nou Su
are now peopled by the Chinese, so that the extinction of
the race, in this district at least, seems likely to take place
in a very short time. The Nou Su themselves reckon that
their numbers have decreased by one-half during the last
thirty years.
The following notes concerning the manners and customs
of these people, the writer thinks may prove of some interest
to the readers of the Chinese Recorder, and may perhaps be
of some assistance to those persons who are endeavouring to
1910]
The Nou Su People
211
determine what place in the history of the peoples of the world
must be assigned to these tribesmen of Yunnan and Kueicheo.
Many of the notes were gathered by Mr. John Li, a Chinese
literary graduate, who has been working amongst the Nou Su
with much diligence and devotion during the last three years.
Others were gathered by the writer during six or seven years’
intercourse with the people.
The Nou Su are not the aboriginal inhabitants of the
Chao-tong district. They came, according to their own tradi¬
tion, from H ; their ancestors being named Wu-sa or Wu-
meng, two twin brothers who, like Esau and Jacob of Jewish
story, struggled together within the womb of their mother.
Hence, say the present-day descendants, the wildness of our
hearts and our fondness for fighting.
Coming to the Chao-tong plain they found a people
already in possession, whom they call the P‘uh, and who are
to-day spoken of by the Chinese as Iao Ren. It seems almost
impossible to discover who these Iao Ren or P‘uh really were.
Chinese tradition in this district says that they inhabited the
plain many centuries ago when it was forest-covered, and that
their houses were like huge burrows in the hill sides. The
Nou Su account is that they, by their advance on to the Chao-
tong plain, exterminated the P'uh. The only vestiges of these
P'ub now remaining are the mounds of earth conspicuous on
the plain. Some of these have been opened, and in them
have been found rough unhewn stones, apparently placed as
door-frames, and burnt bricks of an unusually large size and
marked with a peculiar pattern.
The first Non Su chieftain to come to the .Chao-tong
district was Ien Tsang-fu. He was a very cruel tyrant, punish¬
ing offences in the most rigorous manner. No matter how
closely related to him the offender might be there was no
amelioration of the punishment. It was a common practice
.with this stern leader to gouge out the eyes of those who
disobeyed his commands. The Tumuli (_£ g)of the present
day are in many cases descendants of this man, and if reports
are to be trusted they have inherited a good share of his tyran¬
nical temper.
These Tumuh (this of course is the Chinese designation;
the Nou Su word is equivalent to f|) are the great land-
owners among the Nou Su, and in very many cases they have
enriched themselves by appropriating lauds of families which
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The Chinese Recorder
[March
have become extinct. Perhaps the saddest fact about the Non
Su at the present day is the ease and rapidity with which
families die out. The unsanitary conditions in which the
people live—the water they drink is frequently found in stag¬
nant pools fouled by sheep and cattle,—and their riotous indul¬
gence in wine, opium and other evils, sufficiently account for
this. Such decadence of the race has given the strong the
opportunity of enriching themselves at the expense of their
weaker tribesmen, and quarrelling and fighting about the divi¬
sion of laud is always going on. This laud-grabbing propen¬
sity of the strong Non Su seems also to admirably serve the
purpose of the Chinese government, for a common method of
punishing the lawless Tumuli is to confiscate their property.
Thus land which originally belonged to the Nou Su is brought
under the immediate control of the Chinese authorities.
The Nou Su are, of course, entirely dependent upon the
land for their living. They till the soil and rear cattle, and
the greatest calamity that can come upon any family is that
their land shall be taken from them. To be landless involves
degradation as well as poverty, and very severe hardship is
the lot of men who have been deprived of this means of
subsistence. For those who own no land, but who are merely
tenants of the Tnmiih, there seetns to be no security of tenure ;
but still, if the wishes and demands of the landlords are complied
with, one family may till the same farm for many successive
generations. The terms on which land is held are peculiar.
The rental agreed upon is nominal. Targe tracts of country are
rented for a pig or a sheep or a fowl with a litle corn per year.
Beside this nominal rent the landlord has the right to make
levies on his tenants on all special occasions, such as funerals,
weddings, or for any other extraordinary expenses. He can
also require his tenants with their cattle to render services.
This system necessarily leads to much oppression and injustice.
It is also said that if a family is hard pressed by a Tumuli and
reduced to extreme poverty they will make themselves over to
him on condition that a portion of his land be given them
to cultivate. Such people are called caught slaves, as dis¬
tinguished from hereditary, and the eldest children become the
absolute property of the landlord and are generally given as
attendants upon his wife and daughters.
The Nou Su do not live in towns, nor even in villages, but
their homesteads are found among the ancestral trees scattered
1910]
The Nou Su People
213
over the country. The two great divisions of the people are
the Black (Na Su) and the White (Tu Su). There are several
other classes, e. g., the Lakes or Red Nou Su, who are mostly
blacksmiths; the A-u-tsi, who are felt-makers, providing the
Nou Su with their cloaks and hats and rugs, and who claim to
be related to the Chinese ; and another class who are basket
makers. Few representatives of these districts, however, are
found in the district of which this paper treats.
The Na Su (Black ) are the farmers and landowners ; the Tu
Su (White) are generally slaves. The Black class indeed claim
that all the White were originally slaves and that those who are
now free have escaped at some previous time from servitude.
Every farmer owns a large number of slaves, who live in
the same compound as himself. These people do all the work
of the farm, while the master employs himself as his fancy
leads him. Over these unfortunate people the owner has
absolute control. All their affairs are managed by him. His
girl slaves he marries off to other men’s slave boys, and
similarly obtains wives for his male slaves. The lot of these
unfortunate people is hard beyond description. Being con¬
sidered but little more valuable than the cattle they tend, the
food given to them is often inferior to the corn with which the
master’s horse is fed. The cruel beatings and torturings they
have been subject to have completely broken their spirit, and
now they seem unable to exist apart from their masters. Very
seldom do any of them try to escape, for no one will give them
shelter, and the punishment awarded a recaptured slave is so
severe as to intimidate the most daring. These poor folk are
born in slavery, married in slavery, and they die in slavery.
It is not uncommon to meet with Chinese slaves, both boys
and girls, in Nou Su families. These have either been kid¬
napped and sold, or their parents, unable to nourish them, have
bartered them in exchange for food. Their purchasers marry
them to Tu Su, and their lot is thrown in with the slave class.
One’s heart is wrung with anguish sometimes as he thinks of
what cruelty and wretchedness exist among the hills of this
benighted district. Even here, however, light is beginning to
shine, for some adherents of the Christian religion have changed
their slaves into tenants, thus showing the way to the ultimate
solution of this difficult problem.
The life in a Nou Su household is not very complex.
The cattle are driven out early in the morning, as soon as the
214
The Chinese Recorder
[March
sun has risen. They remain out until the breakfast hour and
then return to the stables and rest during the heat of the day,
going out again in the cool hours.
The food of the household is prepared by the slaves, under
the direction of the lady of the house. There is no refined
cooking, for the Nou Su despises well-cooked food and com¬
plains that it never satisfies him. He has a couplet which
runs : “If you eat raw food, you become a warrior ; if you eat
it cooked, you suffer hunger.” No chairs or tables are found
in a genuine Nou Su house. The food is served up in a large
bowl placed on the floor. The family sit around, and each
one helps himself with a large wooden spoon. At the present
time the refinements of Chinese civilization have been adopted
by a large number of Nou Su, and the homes of the wealthier
people are as well furnished as those of the middle class Chi¬
nese of the district.
The women of the households also spend much time
making their own and their children’s clothes. The men
have adopted Chinese dress, but the women, in most cases, retain
their tribal costume with its large turban-like headdress, its
plaited skirt and intricately embroidered coat. All this is
made by hand, and the choicest years of maidenhood are oc¬
cupied in preparing the clothes for the w’edding day.
The Non Su, it would seem, used not to beg a wife, but
rather obtained her by main force. At the present day, while
the milder method generally prevails, there are still survivals
of the ancient custom. The betrothal truly takes place very
early, even in infancy, and at the ceremony a fowl is killed,
and each contracting party takes a rib ; but as the young folk
grow to marriageable age, the filial negotiations have to be
made. These are purposely prolonged until the bridegroom,
growing angry, gathers his friends and makes an attack on the
maiden’s home. Arming themselves with cudgels they approach
secretly, and protecting their heads and shoulders with their
felt cloaks, they rush toward the house. Strenuous efforts are
made by the occupants to prevent their entering and severe
blows are exchanged. When the attacking party has succeeded
in gaining an entrance, peace is proclaimed and wine and huge
chunks of flesh are provided for their entertainment. Occasion¬
ally during these fights the maiden’s home is quite dismantled.
The negotiations beiug ended, preparations are made to escort
the bride to her future home. Heavily veiled she is supported
The Nou Su People
215
1910]
on horseback by her brothers, while her near relatives, all fully
armed, attend her. On arriving at the house a scuffle ensues.
The veil is snatched from the bride’s face by her relatives, who
do their utmost to throw it on to the root, thus signifying that
she will rule over the occupants when she enters. The bride¬
groom’s people on the contrary try to trample it upon the door¬
step as an indication of the rigour with which the newcomer
will be subjected to the ruling of the head of the house. Much
blood is shed, and people are often seriously injured in these
skirmishes.
The new bride remains for three days in a temporary
shelter before she is admitted to the home.
A girl having once left her parent’s home to become a
wife, waits many years before she pays a return visit. Ancient¬
ly the minimum time was three years, but some allow ten or
more years to elapse before the first visit home is paid. Two
or three years are then often spent with the parents. Many
friends and relatives attend any visitor, for with the Nou Su a
large following is considered a sign of dignity and importance.
When a child is born a tree is planted, with the hope that
as the tree grows so also will the child develop.
The fear of disease lies heavily upon the Nou Su people,
and their disregard of the most elementary sanitary laws makes
them very liable to attacks of sickness. They understand
almost nothing about medicine, and consequently resort to
superstitious practices in order to ward off the evil influences.
When it is known that disease has visited a neighbour’s house
a pole, seven feet long, is erected in a conspicuous place in a
thicket some distance from the house to be guarded. On the
pole an old ploughshare is fixed, and it is supposed that when
the spirit who controls the disease sees the ploughshare he will
retire to a distance of three homesteads.
A fever called No-ma-dzi works great havoc among the
Nou Su every year, and the people are very much afraid of it.
No person will stay by the sick bed to nurse the unfortunate
victim. Instead, food and water are placed by bis bedside and,
covered with his quilt, he is left at the mercy of the disease.
Since as the fever progresses the patient will perspire, heavy
stones are placed on the quilt that it may not be thrown off and
the sick person take cold. Many an unfortunate sufferer has
through this strange practice died from suffocation. After a
time the relatives will return to see what course the disease has
216
The Chinese Recorder
[March
taken. This fever seems to yield to quinine, for Mr. John Li
has seen several persons recover to whom he had administered
this drug.
When a man dies, his relatives, as soon as they receive
the news, hold in their several homes a feast of mourning called
by them the Za. A pig or sheep is sacrificed at the doorway,
and it is supposed that intercourse is thus maintained betweeu
the living persons and the late departed spirit.
The nearer kindred, on hearing of the death of a relative,
take a fowl and strangle it ; the shedding of its blood is
not permissible. This fowl is cleaned and skewered, and the
mourner then proceeds to the house where the deceased person
is lying and sticks this fowl at the head of the corpse as an
offering. The more distant relatives do not perform this rite,
but each leads a sheep to the house of mourning, and the
son of the deceased man strikes each animal three times
with a white wand, while the Pelnno (priest or magician)
stands by and announcing the sacrifice by calling “so and
so”, giving of course the name, presents the soft woolly
offering.
Formerly the Nou Su burned their dead. Said a Nou
Su youth to me years ago, “ the thought of our friends’ bodies
either turning to corruption or being eaten by wild beasts, is
distasteful to us, and therefore we.burn our dead.” The corpse
is burnt with wood, and during the cremation the mourners
arrange themselves around the fire and chant and dance.
The ashes are buried and the ground levelled. This custom
is still adhered to among the Nou Su of the independent
Lolo territory or more correctly Papu country of Western
Sichuan. The tribesmen who dwelt in the neighbourhood of
Wei-ning and Chao-tong have adopted burial as the means of
disposing of their dead, but adding some customs peculiar to
themselves.
On the day of the funeral the horse which the deceased
inan was in the habit of riding, is brought to the door and
saddled by the Pelnno. The command is then given to lead
the horse to the grave. All the mourners follow, and marching
or dancing in intertwining circles, cross and recross the path of
the led horse until the poor creature, grown frantic with fear,
rushes and kicks in wild endeavour to escape from the
confusion. The whole company then raise a great shout and
call, “The soul has come to ride the horse, the soul has
1910]
The Nou Su People
217
come to ride the horse.” A contest then follows among
the women of the deceased man’s household for the posses¬
sion of this horse, which is henceforth regarded as of extreme
value.
It is- difficult to discover much about the religion of the
Nou Su because so many of their ancient customs have fallen
into disuse during the intercourse of the people with the
Chinese.
At the ingathering of the buckwheat, when the crop is
stacked on the threshing floor and the work of threshing is about
to begin, the simple formula, “ Thank you, Ilsoino,” is used.
Ilsomo seems to be a spirit who has control over the crops ;
whether good or evil, it is not easy to determine. Ilsomo is not
God, for at present, when the Nou Su wish to speak of God,
they use the word See, which means Master. In the independ¬
ent territory of the Nou Su, to the west of Sichuan, the term
used for God is Eh-nia, and a Nou Su who has much intercourse
with the independent people contends that there are three
names indicative of God and each representing different func¬
tions if not persons of the Godhead. These names are : Eh-nia,
Keh-neh, Um-p'a-ma. The Nou Su believe in ancestor worship,
and perhaps the most interesting feature ot their religion is the
peculiar form this worship takes. Instead of an ancestral
tablet, such as the Chinese use, the Nou Su worship a small
basket (lolo) about as large as a duck’s egg and made of split
bamboo. This “lolo” contains small bamboo tubes an inch
or two long and as thick as an ordinary Chinese pen handle.
In these tubes are fastened a piece of grass and a piece of
sheep’s wool. A man and his wife would be represented by
two tubes, and if he had two wives, an extra tube would be
placed in the lolo. At the ceremony of consecration the Pehmo
attends, and a slave is set apart for the purpose of attending to
all the rites connected with the worship of the deceased person.
The lolo is sometimes placed in the house, but more often on a
tree in the neighbourhood or it may be hidden in a rock. For
persons who are short-lived the ancestral lolo is placed in a
crevice in the wail of some forsaken and ruined building.
Every three years the “lolo” is changed and the old one
burnt. The term “ lolo,” by which the Nou Su are generally
known, is a contemptuous nickname given them by the Chi¬
nese in reference to this peculiar method of venerating their
ancestors.
218
The Chinese Recorder
[March
Hill worship is another important feature of Nou Su
religious life. Most important houses are built at the foot of a
hill and sacrifice is regularly offered on the hill-side in the
fourth month of each year. The Pehmo determines which is
the most propitious day and the Tumuli and his people proceed
to the appointed spot. A limestone rock with an old tree trunk
near is chosen as an altar and a sheep and pig are brought for¬
ward by the Tumuli. The Pehmo, having adjusted his clothes,
sits cross-legged before the altar and begins intoning his incanta¬
tions in a low muttering voice. The sacrifice is then slain
and the blood poured beneath the altar and a handful of rice
and a lump of salt are placed beneath the stone. Some person
then gathers a bundle of green grass, and the Pehmo, having
finished intoning, the altar is covered and all return to the house.
The Pehmo then twists the grass into a length of rope, which
he hangs over the doorway of the house. Out of a piece of
willow a small arrow is made, and a bow similar in size is cut
out of a peach tree. These are placed on the doorposts. On a
piece of soft white wood a figure of a man is roughly carved,
and this, with two sticks of any soft wood placed cross¬
wise, is fastened to the rope hanging over the doorway,
on each side of which two small sticks are placed. The
Pehmo then proceeds with his incantation, muttering : “ From
now, henceforth and for ever will the evil spirits keep away
from this house.”
Most Nou Su at the present time observe the New Year
festival on the same date and with the same customs as the
Chinese. Formerly this was not so and even now in the
remoter district New Year’s day is observed on the first
day of the ioth month of the Chinese year. A pig and sheep
are killed and cleaned and hung in the house for three days.
They are then taken down, cut up and cooked. The family
sit on buckwheat straw in the middle of the chief room of the
house. The head of the house invites the others to drink
wine and the feasting begins. Presently one will start singing
and all join in this song : “How firm is this house of mine,
Throughout the year its hearth fire has not ceased to burn,
My food com is abundant, I have silver and also cash, My
cattle have increased to herds, My horses and mules have all
white foreheads K‘o K‘o Ha Ha Ha Ha K‘o K l o, My sons are
filial, My wife is virtuous, In the midst of flesh and wine we
sleep, Our happiness reaches unto heaven, Truly glorious
1910]
The Nou S« People
219
is this glad New Year.” A scene of wild indulgence then
frequently follows.
The Nou Su possess a written language. Their books were
originally made of sheepskin, but paper is now used. The art
of printing was unknown, and many books are said to have
been lost. The books are illustrated, but the drawings are
extremely crude. At the present time few beside the Pehmo,
who have practically monopolized the books, study the Nou Su
character.
The educated lads take the usual course of study in Chi¬
nese literature, and at the competitive examinations a certain
number of degrees are allotted to the Nou Su. The gradual
spread of the Chinese language among the people makes the
propagation of Christianity much easier than it would have
been. There is no need to translate any books into the Nou
Su language since Chinese is so widely understood. It is stated
that a greater proportion of Nou Su can read and write the
Chinese character than of the Chinese themselves. Even some
women can read, and at the present time all are very anxious
to learn at least enough to read the New Testament. Doctor
Price’s & $1 A have been readily bought and are proving
of great use. The people are willing to listen to the Gospel
story, and in some respects there is a most gratifying response
to the higher teaching of the Christian religion. Some Nou
Su lads have been for several years in the Training Institute
of the United Methodist Church at Cliao-tong, and have made
excellent progress in Scripture knowledge as well as in such
studies as ethics, general and Chinese history and mathematics,
and are in no way inferior to the Chinese lads.
With wise guidance a strong self-supporting church might
be established among this people, but perhaps it is too much
to expect that in these days of special bequests and grants the
Nou Su will be allowed to depend upon their own resources
in developing their work. Of this, however, we may be sure
that if the Gospel is preached in its purity and simplicity,
a by no means easy task under the circumstances, it wall
prove to these benighted and downtrodden people the comfort
and stimulus for which they have long sought. Light shall
arise upon the people and this moral wilderness shall blossom
as the rose and become as one of the pleasant places of the
earth.
220
The Chinese Recorder
[March
The Union Normal School, Wuchang
BY REV. G. A. CLAYTON, W. M. S., HANKOW.
I N the Chinese New Year holiday of 1907-8 a meeting of
missionaries resident in the Wu-lian cities interested in,
and engaged upon, the work of primary education, was
called to consider the possibility and feasibility of union in
normal training. As is too often the case differences in
educational ideals and aims were too great to facilitate the
complete union desired. Work on independent lines had
already been started in one or two cases, which it was
felt impossible, at that time at least, to give up for a wider
scheme. The meeting, however, was not without its results ;
the upshot being that the Wesleyan Mission high school at
Wuchang, expressing its willingness, and having at that time
ample accommodation within its new buildings for the housing
of such a school, the authorities of the American Church
Mission and American Baptist Missionary Union gladly availed
themselves of this opportunity of union in educational work.
As a branch of educational work this was not an entirely new
venture. The beginnings of normal training in the A. C. M.
were made several years previously, whilst the W. M. S. high
school had not been without its two or three normal students
at any time within the previous five or six years. The new
thing about the scheme was that it was definitely taken up in
the interests of greater economy in men and means, greater
efficiency than previously, and in a genuine spirit of union and
mutual helpfulness.
Our Aim. —At what we all realise to be a definite finan¬
cial loss, English has been excluded from the curriculum.
The school is established to equip men as teachers in primary
schools only, and we have not yet been persuaded that English
takes either a true or a necessary place in the curriculum of the
ordinary country primary school. If English is to be taught
in these or any other schools it had better be entrusted to the
graduates of our high schools and colleges who have had a
long and thorough course in the subject.
Our aim is rather to equip men to train lads, the majority
of whom are never destined to obtain more than the rudiments
of education, with (a) an intelligent and usable acquaintance
with their own language, (b) arithmetic, (e) geography, (d)
1910] The Union Normal School, Wuchang 221
general science, i.e., to provide an education as nearly as
possible equivalent to that obtainable in the government ele¬
mentary school in England,
At the same time we hope that our teachers will be able to
prepare the minority, who will be able and wishful to go
further, to pass the examinations and satisfy the tests required
for entrance into middle and high schools.
Our Material.—S ince the opening of the school as a
union normal school the students who have come may be
divided into three well-marked classes.
(1) . Elderly men of real Chinese scholarship. It is prob¬
ably needless to say that in spite of great labour, both in
teacher and taught, only the exceptional man of this type is
likely to prove more than a stop-gap till some of his younger
brethren are trained to replace him.
(2) . Younger men, say from 20 to 30 years of age, inno¬
cent of all knowledge that is not written in the classics, but
with minds still comparatively plastic. Some of these men do
exceedingly well, and will, we feel sure, at the end of their
course prove the value of their training here.
(3) . Youths from 17 upwards, trained in mission schools,
who come to us with a pretty thorough knowledge of arithme¬
tic and geography and some general acquaintance with science.
It is these men that we welcome. They are more or less the
equivalent of the average normal student in England, and by
their means we see the hope by and bye not only of imparting
some little Western knowledge but of getting Chinese taught
to little children on a really rational plan.
In pre-union days we have had very good results indeed
from men of types 2 and 3. We doubt if type 1 will ever
do more than fill a gap in a time of transition from old to new.
Our hope is that type 3 may increase and come to feel
that the training of little country lads is a vocation worthy of a
man of scholarship.
Our Training. —At present, especially as we have a
number of men who are finished Chinese scholars, training in
Chinese is left to a Chinese teacher of repute. This is merely
for the present. We feel that a big problem in Chinese educa¬
tion lies here, and changes will follow as the way opens.
For the rest we have at present in residence some eight¬
een students of very various ability and attainments. As to
teaching we first have to take them as we find them. For
222
The Chinese Recorder
[March
instance, one man this year will finish his two years 1 residence
at decimal fractions in arithmetic (needless to say he is elderly
and no mathematician), whilst other men, not at the end of their
first year with us, have practically covered all the ground in
Mateer’s three volumes of arithmetic and are making good
progress in algebra. This is a matter that is righting and will
right itself as our work is better understood.
Naturally in a normal school we feel that our business is
the method of teaching as well as the matter taught.
In the early days general hints and helps in teaching were
given rather than definite instruction. We are now past that
stage, and two periods a week are given up not so much to
lectures as to definite example and instruction as to the method
of teaching geography and arithmetic by a fully—normally—
qualified and certificated English teacher.
The men are shown how to teach the various rules, addi¬
tion, substraction and so on, and are then made to give lessons
before and to their fellow-students. For this purpose they are
split up into two classes according to age, so that * face 1 may
be preserved and the work done as easily as possible. In this
way not only the rules of arithmetic but rational methods of
teaching geography, beginning with a map of the school, the
playground, the neighbourhood, the province and so on, have
been inculcated. We hope it will be possible within the near
future to add to this the perhaps greater advantages of training
in a practising school.
Our Results. —We have not attained unto perfection, but
going back over a period of six years (which of course includes
pre-union days) we can honestly say that there are many
proofs that the work has been and is worth while. The old
students are well spoken of by the pastors under whom they
work, and an annual written examination of the boys they teach
gives us all the evidence we need that, if not perfect teachers,
they are vastly superior for our needs to any other type of
whom we know. It is a Christian school. All the students are
baptised Christians or catechumens. We do not seek to draft
them on to any theological school. If after a little experience
in teaching any of them feel that way inclined we shall be
very glad. We do not exist for that purpose, however, but to
raise up a set of men who will be the guides, philosophers
and friends of the great majority who can never go far up the
educational ladder, and we trust we are turning out a type
Students’ Dormitories.
Histology Class at Work.
UNION MEDICAL COLLEGE, PEKING
1910 ] Home Notes by a Missionary on Furlough 223
of man of whom educationally as well as otherwise we need
not be ashamed.
One word more. The coordination of Christian element¬
ary education is tied up with this matter of normal schools.
Given a good strong union normal school in any centre and
the problem of union in elementary school work is solved and
that is the foundation of union in all other school work. Tiie
school here definitely aims at beginning at the bottom.
Home Notes by a Missionary on Furlough
BY REV. E. W. BURT, M. A.
FTER seventeen years on the China mission field I
now find myself for the second time in England, and
a few notes on my experiences during the past six
months may not be without interest to my fellow-missionaries.
My impression of the meetings as a whole is that they
indicate less interest in missions than was manifested on the
occasion of my former visit in 1900. But it is perhaps only
fair to remember that a thrill of horror then went through the
land by reason of the Boxer atrocities, and this had roused
abnormal interest in China. How well I recall the pain of
speaking in 1900 at the very time when the fate of beloved
colleagues hung in the balance and when anxious parents and
friends were tortured by terrible suspense about loved ones in
China ! Now—in 1909—though to the few who closely follow
events in the Far East, the situation is full of interest, there is
nothing of a striking nature to arrest the attention of the
average Christian.
The missionary meetings are, as a rule, poorly attended,
unless special attractions of a sensational sort are provided. The
E. M. S. is face to face with a big deficit, and contemplates
withdrawing from some of its fields. Yet when all the facts
are known, this is not so bad as it seems. Arnold Thomas tells
me that when a few years ago the E. M. S. decided on a great
forward movement, they asked for an additional ^25,000 a
year, and they have got in response to that appeal ^75,000 a
year more than formerly. His own church gave ^1,300 this
year, as against ^1,500 last, but the difference is due to the
death of two warm supporters, so that the grave crisis in the
224
The Chinese Recorder
[March
affairs of the oldest Protestant mission in China is not due to
falling income at home so much as to rising expenditure abroad,
What is true of this great society is more or less true of
all. The moral for missionaries is to push forward in the
direction of an independent, self-supporting church , and to
cease to look so largely to the home church, which has
immense problems and crushing burdens of its own. The
Chinese Christian must be educated to support his own pastor
and school teacher and pay for the board and education of his
own sons and daughters, which is still largely a free gift of the
foreign society, though it leads to the direct advancement of
the worldly prospects of the children of the Chinese Christians.
Of all branches of missionary work none is so popular as
the medical. Many fine young men are preparing to become
medical missionaries, and the day should not be far distant
when every mission station will have its properly-equipped
hospital, physician, surgeon and nurse.
I have also found that any mention of the recent remark¬
able movement towards the unity of the Christian church in
China meets with instant appreciation and warm approval.
Whether the official boards are all quite as ready to keep pace
with the trend of the best opinion of the Chinese church
and her leaders, is another question which I cannot answer
with equal confidence. The traditional shackles of a baneful
sectarianism press harder at home than on the mission field,
and the good people hear with incredulous surprise of the
harmonious cooperation in mission colleges of Presbyterians,
Anglicans and Baptists, whereas in England there is real peril
of secular education being established through the failure of the
different sections of the church to come to a working agree¬
ment. In this matter of union, I have always maintained, we
missionaries have a mission to the divided church at home. If,
as seems likely, we on new fields and breathing a freer air,
unhampered by the ancient shibboleths and jealousies, can
unite, we shall build better than we knew and contribute much
to the solution of this vexed problem at home.
At the recent autumn assembly of the Baptist Union of
Great Britain and Ireland the thing that stands out most
clearly in my memory is the excellent speech of the chairman,
a high Anglo-Indian official of ripe experience, who gave a
most emphatic and convincing testimony to the worth of
missionary work. And I understand that at the spring as*
1910 ] Home Notes by a Missionary on Furlough 225
setnbly equally outspoken words were uttered by another great
Indian ruler, Sir Andrew Fraser. After the witness of such
men, it is only wilful malice that can go on repeating the old
ignorant statements that missions are a failure and missionaries
a pack of fanatics. Instead of the customary vituperation
missions now receive a chorus of praise from all who are quali¬
fied to judge. Let us missionaries be thankful, and also
mindful of the caution, “Beware when all men speak well of
you.” We must seek a fuller consecration if we are to truly
deserve the kind things said of us.
In some churches a new feature, pregnant with promise,
is the formation of mission study circles among the young.
Last winter the text-book was Arthur Smith’s “Uplift of
China,” and this year it is a book called “The Reproach of
Islam.” This movement should do much to remove the dense
ignorance which, alas ! still prevails about the races that sit
in darkness and the mighty things that God is doing in their
midst. One’s fear is that these “study circles” may be
swamped in the multitudinous activities of the church.
Speaking generally the church appears to me to be suffering
from extreme sectionalising rather than from sectarianism. Each
church is a humming hive of activity. Cliques and sets of all
sorts jostle one another—Christian Endeavour societies, brother¬
hoods, adult schools, young peoples’ own, social institutes, boys’
brigades, etc., etc. Is it any wonder that the quiet mid-week
prayer-meeting is crowded out ? There is such a thing in the
church as not being able to see the wood for the trees. This
does not strike the missionary home on furlough as a healthy
sign. The message To-day requires is, “Show piety at home,”
“Study to be quiet.”
At Bristol recently it was my privilege to hear two in¬
spiring addresses on China. The first was by Dr. Campbell
Gibson, of Swatow, moderator this year of the Presbyterian
Church in England. He gave—as all who know him would
expect—a fine, sane and optimistic review of the situatiou in
China, and one’s only regret was that he had such a meagre
audience.
The second address was by Rev. Lord William Gascoigne
Cecil, wdio has twice visited China on behalf of the
China Emergency Committee. He gave a reasoned state¬
ment of the present opportunity, which showed masterly
grasp and intimate knowledge, and he was heard with
226
The Chinese Recorder
[March
keen attention. The meeting was held at the Mansion
House by invitation of those generous friends of missions—
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Robinson—who are this year Lord
Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Bristol, and forward in every
good work. Rev. Gilbert Walshe expounded the aims of the
Christian Literature Society and paid a tribute to its far-seeing
founders—Williamson, Edkins, Faber, etc. The Lord Bishop
of Bristol and Dr. Richard Glover (who visited N. China
nineteen years ago) also spoke, and altogether it was one of
the most interesting meetings I have attended.
Elaborate preparations are being made for the World Con¬
ference at Edinburgh next June. Let us hope and pray that
this conference may concentrate the interest of all Chris¬
tendom in the evangelisation of the world and pave the way
for the unification of the many agencies now at work.
Notes on Recent Native Journalism
BY REV. W. ARTHUR CORNABY.
I T has been part of the writer’s task during the past thirteen
years of Chinese editorship to keep in touch with cur¬
rent articles iii the native papers ; at first with those of
just one leading daily (when residing inland) and latterly with
those of several Shanghai papers and occasionally those of
other ports. There may be said to be at the present time
five leading dailies in Shanghai and about fifty other dailies
of note in the rest of the empire, and (what strikes Westerners
as remarkable) with slight exceptions the whole are in stiff
documentary Chinese, and the leading articles in still more
difficult Wfoi-li, harder to read than, say, the national History
of China from the Han dynasty onwards. This fact has an
important bearing on their sphere of influence, for while we
see around us many a shop assistant scanning the morning
paper, hardly one of that class would be sufficiently educated
to read more than the translated telegrams, the news from
the provinces, and the various entertaining etceteras supplied ;
some few would be able to read the Imperial edicts under-
standingly, but the leading articles—those trumpet notes of
journalism—would have, to ninety-nine hundredths of them,
a yery <l uncertain sound.” Doubtless among the merchant
1910]
Notes on Recent Native Journalism
227
class there are to be found those who can read through these
articles with intelligence, but speaking generally the leading
articles of Chinese journalism gain their full force of appeal
only in the minds of the literary and scholarly classes. This
means that were any native paper or papers to adopt the
attitude to the world in general that a certain half-penny
English daily was wont to adopt toward Germany, its suspicion¬
spreading articles (to call them by the mildest possible name)
would be utterly unintelligible to the Chinese Tom, Dick,
and Harry and could only influence the “man in the street ”
in an indirect way from whatever the scholarly readers chose
to interpret and explain. And anyone acquainted with the
attitude of many of these Chinese articles during the latter half
of 1909, has cause to be devoutly thankful for this delimitation
of inflammatory influence.
In the form of a drama one of the monthlies of England
has recently, under the thinnest of disguises, given an expose
of the policy and methods of the half-penny newspaper refer¬
red to ; that policy being represented as simply to give the
public what they want—good, bad, and indifferent, reliable
or fictitious intelligence according to popular demand. And
of course every journalist, with or without a conscience, if
he would make his paper pay, especially in the midst of
journalistic competition, must ever keep before him “ what the
public wants.” Only those journals connected with literature
societies, and in receipt of subsidies, can afford to give what
the readers ought to want, if the readers’ standard of desires
is much lower than it ought to be. Native papers have to
pay their way, and to gain popularity they must contain (1)
a variety of interesting matter, as news, etc., and (a) criticisms
011 those whom their readers, and young China particularly,
love to criticise or hear criticised, namely, the government in
Peking, the mandarinate in all provinces, and foreign nations
everywhere. These then are the three lines on which a native
editor is ever tempted to distinguish himself and “scratch
the itching places” (as the semi-classical phrase goes) of his
readers. And of these three objectives the last has been
considered as by far the safest, under the impression among
native editors that no foreigner is able to read their articles of
himself, or ardent enough to get them interpreted by a pundit
into colloquial. So that, going well up to the limit of pungent
criticism of the first two classes—unless the paper is quite
228
The Chinese Recorder
[March
under the official thumb—the majority of the dailies went far
beyond the limits of either truth or sanity as regards “our
violent enemies ” of the West, whose whole mercantile
policy was “ poisonous intrigue,” whose whole diplomacy was
“shameless insult,” who were represented as having already
“sliced China as a melon ”, and whose Hague Convention had
mapped out the portions which each were to seize. Foreign
loans were opposed tooth and nail in the most perfervid
manner, and even a full-blown “Boxer” scheme—a horde
of 10,000,000—was boldly advocated by the most popular
of all the papers. No wonder that the country was stirred
up to accept and enlarge upon these wild rumours and
that the situation looked “perilously like that of the end
of 1899.”
But now one has to report with pleasure that, yielding
to various influences and appeals, the Shanghai press for the
whole of January onwards, and the provincial press in many
parts from the middle of January, has been wonderfully mild
and moderate as regards foreign policy, and even the Chiu-
chou-Aigun railway loan
scheme (January 23) evok¬
ed no word of criticism,
though set forth in the
teeth of numerous articles
of the previous year, writ¬
ten at white heat. Very
friendly references to the
Christian Literature So¬
ciety have appeared in¬
stead, the comet tract has
been reprinted by two
most prominent papers.
And a new era of jour¬
nalistic sanity seems to
have dawned. “God
bless our friends, the na¬
tive editors,” should be
our daily prayer. May
they be a force of upbuild¬
ing instead of disintegra-
tiou in the months
years to come.
and
REJECTION OR THE PETITION FOR THE
IMMEDIATE OPENING OF A NA¬
TIONAL parliament.
(Several of the local native papers give a daily
cartoon on current events, of which
the above is a reduced specimen.)
1910 ]
Correspondence
229
Correspondence.
LIFE OF DR. Y. J. ALLEN.
To the Editor of
“The Chinese Recorder.”
Dear Sir : There are many calls
for the Life of Dr. Young J.
Allen to be written. Will friends
in China who may have letters
written by Dr. Allen or know
of interesting facts suitable for
insertion in the Life to be writ¬
ten kindly send the same to
Mrs. Y. J. Allen, 90 Chapoo
Road, Shanghai ? It will be
greatly appreciated.
PURITY LEAGUE FOR CHINA.
To the Editor of
“The Chinese Recorder.”
Dear Sir : I am sending (many
already posted) to every doctor
and male missionary in China,
whose address I can secure, a
copy of “Private Letter to
Boys,” forms of application in
Chinese and English, also a cov¬
ering letter in connection with
the Purity League for China.
Should any one fail to receive
them, I should be obliged if they
would communicate with me.
The urgent need for such
an effort as we are making is
increasingly obvious by the
number and character of letters
which we receive from both
natives and foreigners. May we
again ask for the hearty co¬
operation of all who have the
welfare at heart of the youth of
China.
I am,
Faithfully yours,
W. Arthur Tatchell.
Wesleyan Mission Hospital,
Hankow.
QUESTIONABLE ADVERTISING.
To the Editor of
“The Chinese Recorder.”
Dear Sir : I desire to ask
your opinion and advice on a
question that has arisen in my
mind through the operations in
this district of a foreign tobacco
company. At frequent intervals
recently foreigners, sometimes
two in a party, sometimes but
one, have been advertising
cigarettes through this district
by free distributions and by
brilliantly-colored bills posted
in conspicuous places. To-day
a new means of advertisement
came to my notice, a represen¬
tative (foreign) arriving here
and beginning a distribution of
small hand-bills.
I desire to ask, first, does the
missionary body have any re¬
sponsibility in this matter ? Is
it our duty to take steps to
oppose the introduction of
cigarettes throughout China ?
Personally I am of opinion that,
whatever may be said for or
against the smoking of native
tobacco, there is no doubt re¬
garding the injurious character
of foreign cigarettes. The enter¬
prise of this particular tobacco
company is worthy of a better
cause, and if there is no coun¬
teracting influence, will certain¬
ly result in establishing a large
trade in cigarettes. The mission¬
ary body is the only source from
which any counteracting in¬
fluence is likely to come.
Then, secondly, have these
foreign representatives a right to
travel in inland China for this
purpose? They are not selling
their goods, as far as I know.
230
The Chinese Recorder
but only advertise. Yet, even
so, do the treaties admit of
their travelling in inland China
for this purpose?
Sincerely yours,
Andrew Thomson.
Tax) Koa, N. Houan.
BIBEE TRANSLATION COM¬
MITTEES versus individuals.
To the Editor of
"The Chinese Recorder.”
Dear Sir : It is generally sup¬
posed that there is more likeli¬
hood of accuracy being attained
when several competent men
pool their work than when an
individual does the work alone.
Early versions were the work
of individual translators, and
some were excellent, e.g.,
Tindall.
Dr. Goddard at Ningpo, Dr.
John at Hankow, Bishop Sche-
reschewsky in Japan, each tran¬
slated the New Testament into
Chinese.. ' In i Cor. xv. 53 all
three used the word pj K‘o
(liable to) when translating the
words meaning corruptible and
mortal; yet when the three
separate committees subsequent¬
ly issued their versions it is
found that they agree in reject¬
ing pj K‘o (possibility) and use
& pi (certainty), not giving a
place even its the margin to the
reading of their predecessors.
Verse 51, "We shall not all
sleep,” is a contextual vindica¬
tion of the sagacity of the
individual translators. [On re¬
ferring to the old Delegates’
version I find it correct. The
individuals above mentioned
probably followed it.]
I abstained from sending
suggestions when I found that
correct renderings already in
print liad been ignored [and it
appears that the High W61
[March
revisers have altered for the
worse in this case.]
Mr. Bondfield allows that
proper names need adjusting (see
the name Hebrew' and Hebrews.)
Technical terms also need to be
rendered consistently and not
as in the English A. V. pur¬
posely varied in the same con¬
text (see Boast in Psalm xliv. 8
and Romans ii. 17, v. 11 ; and
Trouble in Psalm xliv. 24 and
Romans v. 3-5 and viii. 35-39.)
Of course the wording of the
cited verse in the two Scriptures
should be identical.
Surveyor.
BIBLE TRANSLATION. PROPER
NAMES.
To the Editor of
" The Chinese Recorder.”
Dear Sir : Reading Mr. Bond-
field’s article in the December
number, one was glad to see
that it is evident to some at
least that "something more
than revision is required” in
the matter of giving Chinese
names for proper names in the
Bible.
I would like to make a sug¬
gestion for any committee that
may be appointed to deal with
this subject.
And first, as the names appear
so difficult to the Chinese, mak¬
ing it almost impossible for
them to remember chapters of
scripture, is it necessary to trans¬
literate so exactly the names of
people and places?
Second, if it be necessary to
do so, then would it not be well
to add the meaning of the name
in places where the meaning is
know'll ?
And third, as Chinese char¬
acters of any given sound are
so abundant, would it not be pos¬
sible often to get sounds that
Our Book Table
231
1910]
have a meaning approximate to
the meaning of the words and
at the same time not far removed
in sound ? This would help the
Chinese greatly.
It might also be possible to
drop the * A ’ at the beginning
and end of words and so give a
shortened name that Chinese
could grasp and use, e.g., in
Ananias (Acts 5.)
If such a work could be done
(I know how difficult the task
would be), it would be a great
boon to the Chinese, and it
might be expected that they
would be encouraged to read
their Bibles more if such diffi¬
culties were, to some extent,
removed.
Yours faithfully,
W.
Our Book Table.
The object of these Reviews is to give real information about
books. Authors will help reviewers by sending with their books,
price, original if any, or any other facts of interest. The custom
of prefixing an English preface to Chinese books is excellent.
81 fiS fit I£. Outline Studies in
Biblical Facts and History. By I.
N. I)e Pay, I. R. Travis. Translated
by T. H Kaung. Edited by P. S.
Yie, Y. M. C. A. 25 cents per sin¬
gle copy ; in quantities of 10 or
more, 20 cents each.
The book, from which this
translation is made, is packed
full of just such facts as teach¬
ers would wish to impart to
Bible classes of Chinese evan¬
gelists and pastors. The transla¬
tion reads well; though not ac¬
quainted with the original I
would judge that this translation
is carefully done. When speaking
of the Bible as the “cation ” the
translator has used the charact¬
ers f;g ifl and referred to Gala¬
tians vi. 16 as the source from
whence the name has been deriv¬
ed. Turning to this in the Union
Version of the N. T. we get $3
xg I® g! “ according to this
rule.” Here the translator lias
chosen a more accurate term
than the one used in the N. T.
It would have been easier for
foreign missionaries to use this
text-book if words like “ canon”
aud names such as “ Coverdale,”
“Robert Stephen,” etc., had
been printed in English either in
the text or at the top of the page,
but it would be well for the
foreign teacher to procure the
original when using this as a
text-book.
$ 1 ™ £ 5 :, Alone in London. Tran¬
slated by Mrs. H. C. DuBose.
Chinese Tract Society. $4,20 per
ioo copies.
This is a touching little story
of a kind that should be much
appreciated by Chinese school
girls. Good healthy stories are
ceitainfy much needed and are
calculated to do much good.
Mrs. DuBose has translated this
story into Easy Wen-li : but for
the pronouns it might be Manda¬
rin. The style may be describ¬
ed as Mandarin with Wen-li pro¬
nouns. Some of the sentences
seem to defy the laws of gram¬
mar as (page 20) & £ A
EL iHr 11 But the sick people
were already full.” What is
meant is that the hospital was
full of sick people. One must
not hastily assume that such a
sentence is wroug though. We
used to see numbers of shops in
232
The Chinese Recorder
Shanghai with a notice which
said : “Inside there
are lamps to eat.” Everyone
understood that the lamps were
not to be eaten, but to be used for
burning opium to eat. So what
the Chinese language says and
what it means are sometimes
different things.
m m & tfl £ $ H If. Western Con¬
stitutional Governments in their
application to China, by Dr. Gilbert
Reid. Published by Macmillan &
Co. 60 cents,
Messrs. Macmillan & Co. have,
from time to time, issued books
specially prepared to meet the
needs of Chinese schools and
colleges, and judging from the
announcement of their forthcom¬
ing publications, which is issued
with this volume, they intend to
push this branch of their busi¬
ness. The present volume by
Dr. Gilbert Reid is on the sub¬
ject which he has made pecu¬
liarly his own. It need not be
said that the work is carefully
and accurately done. Dr,
Reid’s writer uses many of the
phrases affected by scholars of
the new learning. These may
be taken as examples :
U $ Jfif ft “ In the embryonic
stage;” g P] &l ® M ~ +
«S a £ 3c m “Equal in
the race with the powers in this
evolutionary 20th century;” ^
“This was
the childhood of democracy.”
There are complimentary pre¬
faces by three of the highest offi¬
cials and foremost scholars in
the Chinese Empire. That by
Sun Chia-nai is lithographed in
what we take to be his own
handwritting. It is pathetic to
read in it: “I am old ; it is not
likely I shall see the day when
the world will accept a common
bond, but I am fortunate in that
I have seen the preparation for
[March
giving China a constitutional
government,” aud to reflect that
the foreboding has been fulfilled
and the old statesman has pass¬
ed to his reward.
The book is printed on “ tnao-
pien” paper with a cover of stiff
red paper stitched to it some¬
what precariously. It is a book
that will be valued by Cbiuese
scholars.
Faith and Facts as illustrated in the
History of the China Inland Mis¬
sion, by Marshall Broomhall, B. A.
Published by the China Inland
Mission. Price i/- net.
This book is, like all the pu¬
blications of the China Inland
Mission, got up in first class
style. The cover has a fine pic¬
ture of Mont Blanc and a strik¬
ing text at the foot of it. The pa¬
per is good, the printing clear and
the illustrations artistic. Above
all the story told to illustrate
the text that God’s faithfulness
is more abiding than the ever¬
lasting hills, is of absorbing in*
terest. From cover to cover the
book is packed with eloquent
testimony that it is worth while
trusting God. There are in¬
stances of those who glorified
God, giving cheerfully out of
deep poverty and of those who
gave generously of their wealth.
* ‘ This record is published solely
as a testimony to God’s good¬
ness and not from any thought
of exalting a mission or a meth¬
od. Our ground of rejoicing is
not our faith, but God’s faithful¬
ness.”
The frontispiece, “ The First
Cash Book,” is a photograph of
the pocket-book in which Hud¬
son Taylor kept a record of the
first donations given to the China
Inland Mission. On page 23 is
reproduced a photograph of the
page containing the first entry
in this cash book. The neatness
Our Book Table
233
1910]
and business-like method of this
page must impress all who look
on it. The writing and figures
are copperplate. Those who
suppose that a "faith mission’'
may be run on hap-hazard prin¬
ciples will be enlightened by a
study of this page. On page
70 is a picture of the 15 large
volumes which record the trans¬
actions of the financial depart¬
ment of the Mission in Shanghai
from 1889 to 1907. During these
years more than half a million
sterling was paid to the mission¬
aries for their personal use and
work. “To the glory of God
may it be said that not one far¬
thing of that large sum was
spent before it was received, and
there is no instance of a deficit
balance on any page of these
volumes.” Praise God.
J. D.
Handbook of Military Hygiene.
ift £ IS ???■ By Dr- Chao Sze-fab,
Nanking.
This is a handy little volume,
published by the Medical Mis¬
sionary Association. Dr. Chao,
the author, is a graduate of the
medical department of Nanking
University, and has been for
several years examiner to, and
lecturer on, hygiene in the
Army Recruiting Bureau at
Nanking. The work is design¬
ed as a text-book for army re¬
cruits, who are all now required
to know something in regard to
military hygiene before they
are advanced to rank in the
army. The book is illustrated
quite sufficiently for the purpose
for which it is designed, and the
press work is clear. The term¬
inology used is that adopted by
the Publication Committee of
the Medical Missionary Associa¬
tion, and English equivalents of
the Chinese terms are frequent¬
ly given throughout the text.
A large portion of the work is
of equal value to the ordinary
student of hygiene, and it is
heartily commended for popular
use, as well as for use by mili¬
tary students.
G. A. S.
The Messiah, the Ancrstr at, Hope
op THE AGES. The Desire of all
Nations. By E. A. Gordon. Publish¬
ed by the Kaisaislia, Tokyo. Sold
by the C. L. S., Shanghai. Price,
$8.50.
The Hon. Mrs. Gordon, who
is the author of this book, has
been for many years a resident
in the Far East and through
the greater part of her life a
student of Oriental religions.
Others of her works, “Clear
Round,” and “ The Temples of
the Orient,” have had a wide
circulation. Now Mrs. Gordon
has put forth this very striking
work on the Messianic hope
which she finds enshrined in the
great religions of Asia, and
bases upon it a comparative
study of religion. The beautiful
illustrations in colour add to
the attraction of the work.
The learned author has spared
no pains in the collection of
information, and all who are
interested in the subjects dealt
with will find her work profitable
reading. It is needful for every
missionary to Oriental peoples to
attain a sympathetic understand¬
ing of the religious forces which
underlie their superstitions and
customs. Many failures in mis¬
sionary enterprise may be traced
to the entire lack of appreciation
of the truths which underlay
the ancient non-Christian faiths
which many earnest Christian
workers have honestly, but un¬
fortunately, revealed. This work
2)4
The Chinese Recorder
[March
is a helpful reminder of the
fact that God has spoken ill
many distinct messages and by
various methods to the fathers
through the prophets, and should
encourage the search for the
residuum of divine truth which
is to be found ill systems over¬
laid with superstition and error.
Much of the material here pub¬
lished is helpful, and the purpose
of the whole is commendable ;
many of its conclusions, however,
are far from convincing, The
author is gifted with wide read¬
ing, but her work lacks grip and
accuracy. Too many of the
quotations are perverted, often
by a very little, but still pervert¬
ed, apparently for no other
purpose than to add effect to the
point the writer desires to make.
The net result is to accomplish
the reverse, since inaccuracies
in the known lead to a general
suspicion of possible inaccuracy
in the unknown which continual¬
ly holds back the assent of the
reader. He wishes to verify all
before he acknowledges convic¬
tion upon any. On page 119 we
are told that we repeat each
Sunday the triumphant words
of the grand old historic creed:
“ I expect the life of the world
to come.” This is Mrs. Gordon’s
way of saying : “ I believe . . .
in the life everlasting.” Of the
account of the transfiguration we
read thus: They ‘‘were with
Him in the holy mount and were
initiated as eyewitnesses into
His Majesty.” ‘‘His face did
shine as the sun. His raiment
became white, dazzling as the sun ,
as no fuller on earth could white
them.” And again thus : “ The
word was made flesh and dwelt
—was enshrined —among us,”
etc. Instances might be multi¬
plied. If the rvords of Scripture
are thus dealt with the question
may well arise, What of the rest
of the quotations upon which
the whole value of the book,
as an argument, must depend ?
On page 53 an incident is
quoted from the pen of Dr. T.
Richard, in which a Chinese
gentleman, who had read the
New Testament, without guide or
explanation, told the missionary
that the passage which struck
him most forcibly was “ that
which says men may become the
temples of the Holy Ghost.”
The author adds, i.e., ‘ the
Shrine of Noble Life' The
inference is that nobility and
holiness are interchangeable
terms ! Surely the New Testa¬
ment, with its Hebraic use of
‘ holy,’ never suggests anything
of the kind.
The very suggestive line of
enquiry into a possible Christian
source of the highest Buddhist
teaching found in Japan, urged
in the first essay of this work,
“ The Speaking Stone,” is
marred in the same way. Two
Japanese Buddhists—Kobo Dai-
shi and Dengyo Daishi—visited
Cho'ang, Singanfu, in 804 A.D.
to study questions of religion
there. Mrs. Gordon feels assur¬
ed that in contact with the
Nestoriau missionaries, and after
a study of the Nestoriau stele,
Kobo took back with him the
‘ ‘ precious doctrine of the Shin-
gou sect,” which lies at the root
of the ever burning fire of Miya-
jima, the Dai Nichi teaching.
For in Singanfu he had, without
doubt, heard of ‘‘the great
light ” which had shoue to
lighten the nations like ‘‘a
su?irise (?) from on high.” But
the central doctrine Dai Nichi
is 0, which may not be tran¬
slated as Kobo Daishi would
receive it in China as a ‘ great
UGHT ’ at all. It is, as it must
then have been, the great sun.
Dater, personality is ascribed by
1910]
Our Book Table
the writer to Dai Nichi. That
connection has to be assumed, on
general grounds, between the
Mahayana teaching and Chris¬
tianity, should be gladly acknowl¬
edged ; much pregnant hope lies
therein, but the proof is not to
be given on the strength of
casual correspondences. There
is too great a tendency, a tend¬
ency which betrays a weakness,
to treat external likenesses as a
proof of inward and vital con¬
nection. Because legend ascribes
to Jesus Christ fair stature
and curling hair, and images of
Maitreya show the same char¬
acteristics, it may not be even
assumed that the legend and the
image have common ground.
The method is entirely unscienti¬
fic ; it has much in common
with a now discredited but once
popular school of philology.
Yet in her very comprehensive
studies Mrs. Gordon has pointed
the way to students who may,
by the diligent pursuit of lines
of enquiry here opened up, do
much to clear the religious of
Asia from their excrescences of
idolatrous superstition and find
the basic common ground of
faith from which the steps to
salvation may be cut.
The following extract may
serve to illustrate the object of
the life work of our author:
‘ ‘ In these days we stand in
danger of forgetting that ‘ myth'
is perception, insight, intuition,
and that because the myth always
corresponds to a ‘ reality' we
must therefore employ the never-
failing key—‘ by faith’—if we
would interpret truly the mys¬
terious worship of heathen
civilizations. The germ
of primal revelation lies hidden
in them all.” Superstition is,
we are told, rightly expressed
by the Japanese word ‘ faith
gone wrong.' The Japanese
2J5
“ World Illuminator,” the Aryan
“ Sky Father the Greek “ Zeus
Pater,” the Roman ‘ 'Jupiter
Maximus,” and the Chinese
“ Tien,” is He whom the Cord
Jesus Christ taught His follow¬
ers to address as ‘‘Our Father
in Heaven.” He is also the
one of whom Paul preached
at Athens—‘ whom therefore
unconsciously (?) ye are worship¬
ping.’ All this and much more.
It must be read to be fully
appreciated.
Now when the Christian reader
has finished his perusal of this
interesting but provoking work,
he cannot fail to ask himself..
How do its conclusions stand
in relation to a liberal interpreta¬
tion of the New Testament point
of view? Granted that there
is enshrined in faith all rcund
the world an inheritance of Mes¬
sianic hope ; the question then
arises, Does the Messianic hope
satisfy? and, above all, Can it
regenerate? For the Christian
missionary, standing in the posi¬
tion of an interpreter of the New
Testament and of the teaching
and life purpose of Jesus Christ,
is not simply content to proclaim
an ideal, or to expound the
highest truth. Repentance, faith,
salvation, —these are his watch¬
words, and without them truth
itself is mere good form, and
the preacher becomes simply ail
expositor of luminous but non¬
lifegiving doctrine. Christianity
is bound in the nature of the case
to produce in those who hear
it a confession of failure, both
religious and personal, before
its work can become effective.
St. Paul at Athens did not simply
declare “an unknown God.”
He added : “ Now commands He
men everywhere to repent . ” The
message of conformation to the
Divine Will goes hand in hand
with information regarding the
2)6
The Chinese Recorder
Divine Lawgiver or the purpose
of Christ remains unfulfilled.
Such stress may be laid on the
fact tint Christ came to fulfil and
not to destroy, that it may be
forgotten how twice in His
earthly lifetime He cleansed the
temple. “ My Father’s house
shall be called a house of prayer
and ye have made it a den of
thieves." That many have, in
their zeal for the redemption of
men, forgotten that men every¬
where are made in the image of
God and are vehicles of some
measure of divine truth, is very
true, and we are thankful to
Mrs. Gordon for the reminder,
which is so aptly given in this
work, of the inherent spirituality
of universal religion, and of the
[March
fact that God has nowhere left
Himself without witness, and
that Christian truth is either
enshrined or has been implanted
in much of the religious exercises
we see everywhere about us.
Tliis it is our mission to lay
claim to in the name of Christ,
but it is also the business of
Christ’s messengers to evict,
even with scourging, the un¬
worthy moneychangers and the
unholy sellers of merchandise
who have taken possession of
the temples of the living God.
It was the law, the divine
will, that Christ said He came
to fulfill, and not the vain
imaginings of the human mind.
W. N. B,
New Announcements.
The Traveller’s Guide. Religious
Tract Society, London.
An Elementary Study of Chemistry,
by Macphcrson and Henderson,
A First Course in Physics, by Mil¬
likan and Gale.
These 2 books by Rev, Chang
Ynug-hsun,
Directory of Worship of Presbyte¬
rian Church, by C. D, Herriott.
"Wlmt a Young Boy ought to
know” (Stall). Li Yuug-chwen,
Chinkiang.
Rev. J. Leighton Stuart, of Nan¬
king, has 15 lessons on " Greek for
Chinese students,” and hopes to go
on with the work.
Life of Lord Shaftesbury, E. Mor¬
gan. C. L. S.
Finney’s Revival Tract (out), D.
MncGillivray, C. L. S.
Methods of Bible Study. D. Mac-
Gillivrav. C. L .S.
Supplement to Catalogue, D. Mac-
Gillivray, C. L. S.
Wide, Wide World. C. L, S. (in
press.)
Life of Stephen Grellet. C. L. S.
F. B, Meyer’s Elijah. C. J,. S.
From Zoroaster to Christ, being
life of find Parsee convert to Chris¬
tianity. C. L. S.
Poster on Halley’s Comet. C. L. S.,
now in 80th thousand.
Com. on Amos. C, Campbell Brown,
Homiletics. W. M. Hayes,
Life of Mrs. Ruimn. J. Vale.
Newell's O. T. Studies. J. Vale.
Expository and Homiletical Com¬
mentary on the Gospels. Rev. Thos.
C. Fulton.
Life of Alfred the Great. C. L. S.
Practice of Presence of God. C.L.S.
Law’s Serious Call. C. L. S.
Preparation for the Messiah in the
East. C. L. S.
Patterson’s Pauline Theology. D.
MacGtliivjay, C, L, S.
China Mission Year Book. D. Mac-
Gillivray. C. L. S.
Note: In reference to Clarke’s
Theology, Mr. W. Tremberlh writes
that he has finished the work. Prof.
F. J. White also writes that he will
complete the work of the late Mr.
Millard on the same book.
Will the person doing “ Stalker’s
Paul " please give particulars to Dr.
MacGillivray ?
1910] China Centenary Missionary Conference 237
BOOKS IN PREPARATION IN WBST
CHINA,
From the West China Tract
Society's List.
Safely, Certainty, and Enjoyment.
Abridged Pilgrim’s Progress; in verse.
Christianity and Confucianism. By
a Chinese student.
Great Events of Old and New Testa¬
ment ; in verse.
The Holy Spirit. How to obtain and
how to retain.
Our Bible Readings.
Korea and its People.
Griffith Thomas on the Acts.
14 Prize Essaj's on the Duty of Men
to instruct the Women and Cliil-
dren of their Households.
Sheet Tract on Payment of Taxes,
From Guilt through Grace to Glory.
By Y. V. C. A.
Temptations of Students, by John R.
Mott.
Power of Jesus Christ in the Life of
Students. John R. Mott.
Achievement— 0 . S. Harden (abridg¬
ment.)
Constructive Studies in the Gospel of
Mark. Burton.
Bismarck : His Life and Work (W£n-
li), by Rev. F. W. Leuschner.
Westcott’s Commentary on St. John’s
Gospel, by Rev. G. Miles, Wesleyan
Mission.
Onward, Christian Soldiers. Talks on
Practical Religion (S. P. C. K.), by
Rev. Win. P. Chalfaut, Ichowfu.
Expository Commentary on John’s
Gospel. George Hudson.
Mongol Catechism. Robert Stephen,
Jehol, via Peking, from whom copies
may be had.
China Centenary Missionary Conference.
The Committee’s Final Report.
At a meeting of the Executive Committee held on the ist
of February the secretary’s and treasurer’s reports were presented
and passed, and thus the long labours of the committee were
brought to a close. It will be remembered that the Executive
Committee was to continue in office until the accounts and business
of the conference had been settled, and it will not be a surprise
to anyone familiar with the conference records and resolutions
to know that it has taken the committee nearly three years to
complete its duties. Before the chairman formally declared the
Executive Committee to dissolve the following missionaries were
nominated as the permanent committee :—
Rt. Rev. Bishop F. R. Graves, D.D.
Rev. G. F. Fitch, D D.
Rev. J. R. Hykes, D.D.
Rev. E. Box.
Rev. D. E. Hoste.
Rev. G. H. Botidfield.
Rev. D. MacGillivray, D.D.
The permanent Committee organized by electing the Rt. Rev.
Bishop Graves, Chairman; Dr. G. F. Fitch, Treasurer; and Rev.
G. H. Bondfield, Secretary.
238
The Chinese Recorder
[March
Secretary's Report. —A report on the work of the various
committees appointed by the conference was published in the
September and October numbers of the Chinese Recorder,
1908, and is presented herewith. To that report there is but little
to add.
1. The Committee (No. 8) on the Preparation of a Message to
the Literati of China issued their message early last year. The
draft, prepared by Rev. T. W. Pearce, and approved by his
colleagues, Revs. Dr. Chauncey Goodrich and F. W. Bailer, was
submitted to several other sinologues and finally prepared for the
press by Mr. Pearce and his able Chinese helpers. Over 10,000
copies (in parcels of 10, 15, 25 and 50) were posted to the mission
stations throughout the empire. Many missionaries wrote for
additional copies, and everywhere it appears to have been wel¬
comed as an admirable statement and a timely appeal. The com¬
mittee, and the translators in particular, are to be congratulated
on the success of this publication. The message should not be
allowed to go out of print.
2. The Committee (No. 15) on the Form of Prayer also
successfully completed their labours, and some thousands of the
revised prayer were sent out in April last. Several letters of
thanks have been received.
3. With regard to the organization or work of the Committee
(No. 19) on the Preparation of Commentaries, I have merely to
repeat what was reported in October, 1908, viz., no information
of any kind has beeu received.
4. Publication. —The instructions of the conference to publish
records of the proceedings and the addresses, etc., that w r ere
delivered, were carried out, and the treasurer’s report shows that the
sale of these books and of the Century of Missions has not only help¬
ed to finance the Conference but has left a substantial balance in
the treasurer’s hands. The committee is greatly indebted to the
editors and sub-committees for preparing and seeing these volumes
through the press.
The following details may be of interest:—
Number of
Copies
Cost, copies sold.
on hand.
1,000 Century of Missions ...
$2,880.32 946
3,000 Conference Records
5,413.26 2,095
877
1,000 Conference Addresses ...
671.53 322
654
Copies of the ‘ 4 Records ’ ’
and “Addresses” were presented
as mementos to reviewers, reporters, editors and others and to
members of committees, etc., as sanctioned by resolutions of the
Executive Committee. Tetters of thanks are attached to this
report.
1910] China Centenary Missionary Conference 239
A resolution dealing with the remaining stock will be submitted
to this meeting.
5. It now only remains for the Executive Committee to
complete its labours in accordance with the conference resolutions,
(Records, p. 757) to pass for publication a cash statement, and
appoint the Committee.
G. H. Bondfield, Hon. Secretary .
Centenary Conference Committee,
BALANCE SHEET.
Assets,
Cash at bank. $ 331.79
Due by American Tract So¬
ciety... ..1,211.38
Stock at cost value
877 Records . 1,562.87
654 Addresses . 438. 98
Typewriter and writing uten¬
sils in secretary's office ... 40,00
I3.585.0a
G. F. Fitch, Treasurer.
Audited and compared with books
Liabilities.
Due to Methodist Publishing
House .. ... $ 800.00
Cr. balance ..2.785,02
$3,585 02
it -rnr.»-J
vouchers and found correct
J. N, Hayward.
S. E. Sm alley
Treasurer’s Report,
In making his final report the treasurer would call attention
to a few items of expense which, while seemingly large, yet
were only relatively so and were unavoidable,
1st. There was the expense of hiring the Martyrs’ Memorial
and Town Halls, involving a total of $1,459.50.
2nd. Advertising, band, etc., $668.20.
3rd. Printing and circulating papers ordered by the Confer*
ence, such as, Tetter to the Chinese Churches, Memorial to
the Home Churches, Memorial to the Chinese Government, Form
of Prayer for the Emperor of China, etc. Total $1,376.20.
In this connection it is but just to mention the generosity of
the Missionary Societies and friends in England and the United
States, which made the Conference a possibility.
After all dues have been collected, including quite a large
sum from the American Tract Society, and all expenses have
been met, we shall have quite a balance on hand, which will be
further increased by sales of the remaining Conference Records.
Centenary Mission aiy
in account with
Expenditure.
To Preparation of Conference and Organizing Ex¬
penses
Printing papers, resolutions, circulars, programs, etc. $ 1,474.10
Clerical help, typist, etc... 240.00
Typewriting machine.. ... 151.00
Stationery, etc.. ... J& 4-74
Postage on papers, etc. . 545-73
Hymn books . S7.42
Sundries. 11.10
Conference Meetings :—
Y. M. C. A. Hall
Town Hall
Advertising
Band .
Police, coolies, etc.
Clerical help
Book exhibit
Sundries.
Post-Conference Expenses
Printing resolutions, papers, circulars, etc.
Postage, envelopes, stationery, etc..
Clerical help and typist ...
Sundries, telegrams, etc.
Conference Volumes: Printing, Publishing, and
Advertising :—
1,000 “ History of a Century of Missions ”
3,000 " Conference Records ” .
1 ,ooq Conference Addresses ” .
General advertising, etc.
Credit balance at bank
1,209.50
250.10
466.79
201.41
171.00
88.00
59-75
120.28
508.42
39 i 39
170.00
247-39
2,503.82
5,413.26
67f-53
18.35
8,606.96
Less amount due to Methodist Publishing House... 800.00
2,694.09
2,566.83
1,317.20
7,806.96
331-79
fi4,716.87
Audited, compared, with books, vouchers, and bank pass book and found
correct.
J.N. Hayward, ) AudUors>
S. R. SmaiaEy,
December 17th, 1909,
Conference Committee
the Treasurer.
Receipts.
By Donations and Offertories.
Paid in China:
American Book Co., New York ...
Atn. Bil. Com. Foreign Missions...
Christian and Missionary Alliance
Methodist Episcopal Church, South
Mr. Theo. Morris, New York
Mrs. Thaw, Pittsburg...
English Presbyterian Church
National Bible Society of Scotland
Wesleyan Missionary Society
London Missionary Society
Church Missionary Society
China Inland Mission .
Church of Scotland Mission
United Free Church of Scotland
British and Foreign Bible Society
Friends Foreign Mission.
Canadian Presbyterian Mission ...
Miss Graham .
Mr. Cecil l’olhill .
Collected in U. S. A. by Mr. Filch :
Southern Presbyterian Church ...
Protestant Episcopal Church
Methodist Episcopal Church, North
Baptist Missionary Union.
Christian Mission.
Southern Baptist Convention
Mr. Solon Severance .
,, J. M. Gould .
,, L. H. Wood .
,, E. L- Moore .
,, Lobenstine .
Gold $ 50.00
I 75'°°
100 00
200.00
25.00
25 00
^10.0.0
15.0.0
25.0.0
10.0.0
15.0.0
15.0.0
10 .0.0
15.0.0
10 . 0.0
10 . 0.0
15.7.x
Taels 50.00
Gold |ioo.oo
200.00
200.00
200.00
150.00
100.00
25.00
5.00
10.00
10.00
50.00
Gold $1,050.00
Less expense of collecting... 4 50
Collections at meetings, etc.
Total 1,045.50
• ••
• ••
,, Registrations, sate of papers , programs,
directories, and sundries at counter ...
,, Advertising in directory
,, Book exhibit.
,, Sundries, bank interest, etc.
„ Sales of Conference Volumes :
“ History of Missions” ...
‘‘Conference Records ”...
“Addresses” .
Less due by American Tract Society
$ 96.26
319-38
192.79
378 . > 5
43-13
48.42
92.47
138.14
229.73
92.42
I37-85
138.35
91.47
i 33.‘ s 5
92.32
9 2 -°5
136.28
20,00
67 - 4 S
2,002.65
561.50
116.00
4.62
32.89
2,880.22
5,004 63
283.60
8,168.45
1,211.38
5.109.69
2,496.60
153-51
6,957 07
$14,716.87
G. F. Fitch, Treasurer.
Deccember 17th, 1909,
242
The Chinese Recorder
[March
Missionary News.
Death of Mrs. Williams.
On January 29 there passed
away at Canton, deeply regretted
by all classes, the wife of Walter
H. Williams, I. M. Customs.
Mrs. Williams had lived for
twenty-five years in Canton, and
had won a unique place in the
hearts of all. The mission¬
ary community, the Consular
service, the Customs service, the
navy, the Parsee community,
and Chinese, Christian and non-
Christian, all united to pay the
last tribute of respect. Mrs.
Williams knew no distinction of
creed. Her practical sympathy
passed over all barriers of race
or color.
Wuhu Bible Institute.
Programme.—F eb. 23-Mar. 9, 1910
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There will be union services on Sunday,
February 27, and Sunday, March 6.
Daily evangelistic services will be conduct¬
ed by Dr. MacGillivray and Mr. Shi Kwei-
biao.
The leaders of the Bible classes will meet
Rev. Geo. Miller daily in a normal class.
Remarkable Work at Ichowfu,
Shantung.
The Rev. Geo. A. Armstrong
tells of a new result of revival,
that is, the enrolling of over 1,000
enquirers. “ We have been pray¬
ing for a long time for God’s
blessing on the Ichowfu work and
looking forward with hope and
preparation for Chinese Pastor
Ting Id-mei’s coming. He
arrived here from Yihsien on the
15th of January and began ser¬
vices in the big church on Sun¬
day, the 16th, in a quiet way.
We had invited all our baptised
Christians from the country dis¬
tricts to attend the meetings, and
about a hundred of them came.
For the eight days appointed
there were four daily services—
daylight prayers at 7 a.m., led
by our native evangelists and
Christians and preaching services
at ix a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.,
led by Pastor Ting. There was
a good attendance at morning
prayers, and at all the other ser¬
vices the house was well filled ;
almost every day the benches
being crowded more closely to¬
gether while others were added.
From the very first Pastor Ting
appealed to the people as he
showed them the love and mercy
of God. During the first three
days his energies were directed
towards the purifying of the
Christians and the refilling them
with the love and Spirit of
1910]
243
Missionary News
Christ. During these three days
the meetings were somewhat
emotional, as the Christians re¬
pented of their shortcomings
and reconsecrated themselves to
Christ. After the third day the
meetings were more calm, but
with daily increasing interest.
On the evening of the third day
a?i invitation zvas given to out¬
siders who zvished to study the
Gospel to come forward and be
enrolled. A little child in the
front seat stood up first, and then
they began to come forward—
young and old, poor and rich,
ignorant and educated—until on
that first night there were 82
names enrolled. At all the
succeeding meetings names were
added. The Christians began to
work—the children to bring in
their playmates,the laborers their
friends, the students their class¬
mates and the rich their compa¬
nions. They could not all come
forward, and so individuals were
given paper and pencil to take
names throughout the audience.
We had prayed for 200. The
200 mark was passed. We
prayed for 300, we prayed for
500. At the end of the eighth
day, on which the meetings
were to end, there were 836.
The meetings were adjourned at
the end of the eighth day as per
schedule, but Pastor Ting is
remaining with us for another
week, holding daily evening
meetings and helping us to ar¬
range the work for the gathering
in, and teaching of, the new
Inquirers. More names are being
added every day. At present
the number stands at 944, and
the end is not yet. (A young wo¬
man stepped in just now to bor¬
row a piece of paper on which to
write some more names). Sure¬
ly the Lord is manifesting His
presence among us at this time.
Although it may be that some
of these will never get beyond
the taking of this first step, yet
the affinity between God and
man is being made very plain.
We trust that He will give 11s
wisdom and strength to win and
teach a large percentage of these
who have taken this first stand
for Jesus. And it does seem as
if the Lord were adding His
blessing to our new church and
that He has accepted the offer¬
ing of the Woman’s Board of the
Southwest, Ever since it was
first opened on Christmas night
it has been practically filled at
all regular services with audi¬
ences ranging from 200 to 800.
It seems as if the Lord has
abided His time in coming to
Ichowfu, for never until within
the past few weeks have we had
a place where such gatherings as
these would have been possible,
A dedicatory service was held
on Sabbath afternoon, the 23rd,
with Pastor Ting and the resi¬
dent foreign pastors at the helm,
in which the building in memory
of Rev. Wallace S. Paris was
dedicated to the Lord. On the
same day an interesting con¬
secration service was held, at
which between 20 and 30 small
children were consecrated to the
Lord, not by baptism, but by
their parents consecrating them
to the work of the ministry or the
service of the Lord. At another
service earlier in the week 37 of
our older women pledged them¬
selves to the unbinding of their
feet. An atmosphere of great
joy seems to surround us just
now. One has rather a peculiar
sensation when one goes upon
the street now and realises that
almost every one into whose face
one looks counts him or her¬
self as one of us. It is en¬
couraging to know that so many
of those who have come in are
our nearest neighbors and from
244
The Chinese Recorder
[March
those who have known us best.
It is said that almost every home
and shop on the street, from the
entrance at our compound to the
crossing of the great street, is
represented.
Yesterday we telegraplied and
wrote to Tsing-chow-fu, calling
our Bible students out of schoot
to help us in the work here
next year, and to-day Pastor
Ting telegraphed to Manchuria
to see if lie could not have his
date there postponed that he
might remain with us a while
longer. Our force here is not
strong.
Pastor Ting is a man of very
much prayer, devout and earn¬
est, and he would ask that you
remember these 900 in your
prayers, asking that the grace of
the Lord may abound unto them.
January 27th —Since the above
was written 60 more names
have been added. At to-night’s
meeting the number passed the
1,000 mark.
A Million Souls for Christ
in Korea.
According to a report from
George T. B. Davis, the move¬
ment for winning a million souls
to Christ in one year in Korea
is sweeping over the whole na¬
tion. The movement originated
in prayer and the study of God's
Word. Feeling the need for
power, about six months ago
a little group of missionaries
called for a week of prayer. A
few days later these same mis¬
sionaries met for an entire day
of prayer, when the Spirit of
God seemed to fill the room,
and after several days of further
prayer in a temple on a near-by
mountain, they went forth filled
with a consuming passion for
souls. At the Annual Confer¬
ence of the Methodist Church,
South, they adopted the watch¬
word of “ Two Hundred Thou¬
sand Souls for Christ.” A re¬
port of this was carried to the
General Council of Evangelical
Missions, and after much prayer
the Council decided that all
missionary bodies should join in
asking God for a million souls,
and thus they inaugurated a
Gospel campaign to Christianize
one million of the thirteen
million Koreans in one year.
Because of the oppression of
centuries the Korean is ofteu
lazy and shiftless, but he is
marvellously transformed when
he becomes a Christian. He
becomes an intense personal
worker, and many cases are re¬
ported of over a hundred con¬
verts as the result of one man’s
labor. So eager are they to win
souls that they will set apart a
certain number of days each
month for teaching and preach¬
ing the Word of God.
One secret of the success at¬
tending the work of the Koreans
is the intensity and simple faith
with which they pray and
study the Word of God. The
widespread distribution of the
Bible by the Koreans them¬
selves as a method of personal
work, is one of the foremost
features of the campaign.
Dr. James S. Gale, of Seoul,
one of the wisest missionaries
in Korea, gives his opinion of
the movement in the following
words :—
“ The present moment calls for
special effort in Korea. Its watch-
ward of ‘A Million Souls ’ rings out
at a time of supreme national hope¬
lessness. Wrecked and humiliated
through her own failures, incapable
of self-defence or self-government,
she has fallen to a place of contempt
among all nations. Authority no
longer rests with her, finances are
out of her control, the world of graft
and fraud in which she lived has
245
Missionary News
4910]
been spirited away, and to day strip¬
ped and convicted and undone, she
looks for a Saviour. This is the
supreme moment. We cannot reckon
on the future or foretell it. Now
is the moment, and it is here: the
wide-open door, the humbled people,
the waiting heart. Will he come,
this great somebody for whom they
wait? Is it the Church? Is it the
Salvation Army? Is it Education? Is
it America? Who will save them?
This is tbs question. Jesus the Na-
zarene, specialist for all hopeless
ones, despised ones, incapable ones,
impure ones, fools and knaves, thieves
and robbers, outcasts and riffraff of
men and nations. He is here, touching
this one and that. Reader, if thou
knowest how to pray, pray that this
moment may be made sure, this
sealing of a hundred and forty-four
thousand and all the extra ones to
make up the million.”
From the beginning the bless¬
ing of God seemed to rest upon
the movement. Shortly after the
Council bad passed the motion,
the Chapman-Alexander party
arrived in Seoul to conduct spe¬
cial meetings, and these were
followed by great blessing, not
the least of which was the or¬
ganization of the Pocket Testa¬
ment Teague.
Dr. Horace G. Underwood, of
Seoul, one of the founders of
the Korean Church, speaks of
the movement in the following
words:—
“ The prayer for a million souls for
Christ in Korea this year is not as
impossible as the prayer offered at
the first watch-night service held in
Korea on the last day of December,
1885. There were then less than ten
missionaries in Korea, including the
women and children. The first prayer
offered was for souls for Christ in
Korea the coming year. It seemed
impossible that such a request should
be granted in Korea, the ‘ Hermit
Land,” the last of the nations to open
its doors to the Gospel. In Japan they
had to wait six years before they
baptised their first convert, and twelve
■years before Urey bad six members
with which to organize their first
church; while in China they had to
wait nearly a score of years for their
first convert.
” Weak indeed was our faith, but
we plead with God to strengthen it.
We baptised two converts that year.
At the next watch-night service we
were led to ask for a score of souls,
and before the end of 1887 there were
23 baptized believers. With strength¬
ened faith the next year we plead
with God for a hundred, and before
the end of the year there were 125
professing Christians. And now with
the number of missionaries in Korea,
with the strong church, with the
organized body of personal workers,
I believe it will be more thau a
million before the end of the year.
“ China and Japan and Russia have
all acknowledged that Korea is the
strategic point of the Far East. We
can well believe that it is also the
strategic point religiously, and to
wiu Korea now means to win the
Far East. ’ ’
It is said that the prayers of one
woman in Texas started the great re¬
vival which has been sweeping over
South China. Will not Christian
people everywhere unite in cryin#
earnestly to God for the million souls
in Korea ? The following are some
suggestions for prayer
1. Form little prayer - circles or
groups among your friends,
and each day both with others
aud alone plead with God for
a million converts in Korea
by October 9,1910,
2. Pray that the Korean Christians,
church officers and leaders,
and the missionaries, may be
so filled with the Holy Spirit
that they may have power to
win the heathen to Christ.
3. Pray that the hearts of the
heathen may be prepared by
the Holy Spirit to receive the
truth and be saved.
4. Pray that God’s Spirit may be
poured out upou the laud so
mightily that the entire nation
may speedily turn to God, and
thus the prophecy be fulfilled
of a natiou “ born in a day.”
In connection with this move¬
ment a Day of Prayer for Korea
is called for by the committee in
the following appeal:—
Through the evident guidance of
the Holy Spirit the General Council
of Evangelical Missions in Korea was
led to decide to pray and work for a
million souls in Korea this year.
Therefore because the present is
246
The Chinese Recorder
without doubt God’s opportunity for
making Korea a Christian nation, and
because Korea is the strategic point
of the Far East, and to win Korea
NOW means to help immeasurably
in the evangelization of the East,
we ask Christian people in all lauds
to observe Sunday, March 20th, as a
“Day of Prayer” for the million
movement in the onetime “Hermit
Land.” Pray that through the gra¬
cious outpouring of the Holy Spirit
upon the missionaries, the Christian
Koreans, and those who are still in
[March
the darkness of heathenism, the mil¬
lion may be more than realized.
It is especially requested that in the
church services, and at Suuday School
on that day, Christiaans be urged to
pray daily, individually and in groups,
that the full harvest may be gathered
in by the 9th of October, 1910.
COMMITTEE.
Dr. James, S. Gale, Chairman.
Mr. Hugh Miller, Secretary.
Dr. H. G. Underwood.
Rev. D. A. Bunker.
The Month.
MILITARY EXPEDITION TO LHASA.
Reuter’s Agency reports on Feb¬
ruary 24th that some 25,000 Chinese
troops, trained upon the Japanese
system, are being pushed into Tibet,
from the province of Szechuan. This
force is equipped with a wireless tele¬
graphic installation and quantities
of machiue guns and mountain guns.
The army is under the command of
H.E. Chao Erh-feng, the vigorous
and enlightened brother of the
Viceroy of Szechuan.
The ’ intention, apparently, is to
establish Chinese domination in
Tibet, to remodel the conditions on
the frontier to encourage the settle¬
ment of Chinese immigrants. In the
preparation for the military advance
7,000 men worked day and night at
the arsenals in Chengtu, which were
lately refitted with German ma¬
chinery, under German supervision.
The Chinese suffered severely from
cold, privation and the hostility of
the border tribes. On one occasion
the Chinese were ambushed near
Batang, where they lost 400 men and
a number of guns.
NSW LAWS.
The Yuch’uanpu has reported on
the subject of the compilation of the
proposed new Laws for Navigation,
Railways Posts and Telegraphs. It
states that Navigation Laws will be
based on those of Great Britain;
Railway Laws will be adopted from
the German and Belgian codes; and
Postal and Telegraphic Laws will be
compiled from Japanese, American,
Danish and Austrian laws. Messrs.
Shih Yu and Ma Te-yii have been
appointed to draft the laws, under
the supervision of Mr, Chen Yi.
When the codes have been completed
they will be referred to the Law
Revision Commissioners for approval
before being promulgated by Edict.
The Commission of Constitutional
Reform has decided to classify the
Courts of Justice as follows: 1. The
Ta Li Yuan or High Court of Justice.
—This Court will be in Peking. 2,
The Upper Courts of Justice.—One of
these Courts will be instituted in the
capital of each province. 3. Local
Courts.—One of these Courts will be
instituted in each prefecture and
each independent county department.
4. Lower Courts.—Two of these
Courts will be instituted in the
boroughs, shires and districts.
THE PARLIAMENT QUESTION.
Several meetings were held by the
members of the Censorate to discuss
whether they should forward the
memorials from the people of various
provinces urging the Throne to open
the parliament. The Censorate re¬
fused to have an interview with the
provincial assemblymen now in Pe¬
king regarding the speedy opening of
the Imperial Parliament.
An Imperial Decree of January
2nd said : “ In respectfully reflecting
upon the Decrees issued by Empress
Hsiao Chiii and Emperor Teh Tsung,
we find that they were the results
of their Majesties’ owm determination.
Their Majesties fixed nine years for
the period in making preparations
for a monarchical constitution for
the Chinese Empire. Their command
was that the chief power was vested
in the Throne, but that the adminis¬
tration was to be opened to public
opinion. This was patent to the
Ministers and people in our whole
Empire. . . .
247
19 tO] The Month
. . . Our Empire is extensive in
area, and as neither the preparations
are complete nor the people’s stand¬
ard of intelligence uniform, should a
Parliament suddenly be opened it is
anticipated that opposition may be
rife, which will hamper the progress
of constitutional government. Should
this happen not only shall We be
unable to satisfy the spirit of the
late.Emperor in heaven, but it will
be open to question whether the
representatives, who present the
petition, can face Our four hundred
million brethren.
We wish 1o exhibit absolute sin¬
cerity and to hide nothing. In short
constitutional government will cer¬
tainly be established and a Parlia¬
ment will be surely opened, but what
is to be carefully considered is tlie
question of time and order. Safe
gait is essential in a long walk, as it
is unwise to look for immediate
results in attemping an important
task. Provincial Assemblies have
been opened in all the provinces and
the Senate will be organized in the
next year, so that the basis of a Par¬
liament will be complete.
We hope that Our Ministers and
people will perform their duties dili¬
gently and compare results according
to time. They should uot aim at au
empty name to the detriment of
actual results. We hereby clearly
announce that when the nine years’
preparations are complete and uni¬
versal education has spread among
the people, We will resolutely issue
au Edict to fix a time for a Parlia¬
ment to be summoned. It is hoped
in this manner that, in aiming at
benign government, care may be
exercised in its deliberations. This
is issued for general information.”
According to Chinese information
an association has been formed in
Peking, with the object of expediting
the opening of Parliament. It has
telegraphed to the Provincial Assem¬
blies and to educational and other
public bodies in all the provinces,
pointing out the urgent necessity of
an early opeuing of Parliament and
requesting them to take action and
send delegates to support the provin¬
cial delegates in their petition*
OPIUM SUPPRESSION.
The following important Imperial
Decree was issued on January 2oth :—
“ With reference to the regulations
for opium prohibition, drawn up by
the Ministry of the Interior in con¬
junction with the Daw Revision
Commissioners and presented by the
Commission for Constitution Re¬
forms, it is to be observed that opium
suppression is essentially an impor¬
tant matter to strengthen the Empire,
and that Decrees had been issued in
the previous reign commanding that
opium should be strictly prohibited.
Regulations of prohibition have, at
different times, been issued for
general guidance, and this year warn¬
ings have been reiterated, so that
instructions and preventive measures
in the matter may be said to have
been exhaustive.
Many provinces have now reported
the entire suppression of opium
plantation, and in different parts the
number of people breaking off this
habit is gradually increasing. It is
necessary at once and definitely to
decide on a plan of punishment and
warning in order that this poisonous
bane may be eradicated permanently.
On perusal of the regulations pro¬
posed for opium-suppression, they
are found fairly complete and minute
in respect of penalties and fines, and
these regulations should be promul¬
gated and enforced both in and out
of the capital.
The viceroys and governors in the
rovinces where opium plantation
as not been entirely forbidden, are
commanded to order and superintend
the local officials in taking steps to
reduce the term of years in which
poppy plantation should be prohibited
with a view to eradicating the evil
as soon as possible. In the provinces
where entire suppression has taken
place, they should at all times in¬
vestigate the conditions, and any
recrudescence of the evil should be
regarded as a violation of the laws of
the government, and action must be
taken according to the regulations
for the punishment of the offences.
All the regulations proposed by
different government offices in the
capital aud the variations in the
length of terms of prohibition pro¬
posed by the provinces which have
been sanctioned by the Throne,
should become established regula¬
tions, and any violation of them
should be punished accordingly.
Should any high official in or out of
Peking, who has control over local offi¬
cials, dare to relax his efforts in this
matter or secretly to offend against
the regulations he will also be punish¬
ed. It is sincerely hoped that this
chronic curse will be gradually era¬
dicated aud that the people will daily
strengthen and flourish hereafter.”
248
The Chinese Recorder
[March, 1910
Missionary Journal.
BIRTHS.
AT Hongkong, 17th December, 1909,
to Mr. and Mrs. MohlEr, Y. M.
C. A., a son (John Yoxall).
AT Hwangchow, Hupeh, 8tli January,
to Rev. and Mrs. S. TannkvisT, S.
M. S., a daughter (Astrid Svenborg
Maria).
AT Yung-p'ing-fu, 8th January, to
Mr. and Mrs. Edwin J. Tharp, a
daughter (Margaret Ruth).
AT the Irish Mission, Fakumen, Man¬
churia, 23rd January, to the Rev.
and Mrs. F. W. S. O'Neirr, a son.
AT Peking, 23rd January, to Dr. and
Mrs. George D. Dowry, M. E. M.,
a sou (George Edward).
At Foochow, 29th January, to Mr.
and Mrs. McLachrin, Y. M. C. A.,
a daughter (Helen Eileen).
At Nanking, 31st January, to Dr. and
Mrs. RUSSET,!,, M. E. M., a daugh¬
ter (Martha Lovvinia).
At Shanghai, 7th February, to Mr.
and Mrs. C. L. Boynton, Y. M. C.
A., a sou (Charles Dozier).
AT Hankow, 9th February, to Mr.
and Mrs. J. M. 0 . Gudar, Am.
Lutheran Mission, a son.
At fcfuchow, 13th February, to Mr, and
Mrs James V. Latimer, Am. Baptist
M.,a daughter (I'rancis Marlon).
At Soochow, to Dr. and Mrs. John
Sneer, M. E. M., South, a daughter
(Laura Evelyn).
AT Soochow, to Mr. and Mrs, B. D.
LUCAS, M. E. M., South, a son
(Thomas Lawman).
MARRIAGES,
At Kwangyuali, nth December, 1909,
Mr. II, E. Stubbs to Miss E, M.
Pracy, both C, I. M,
At Chungking, 20th January, Mr, P.
O. ORESEN to Miss L, Guest, both
C, I. M.
AT Hanyang, 29th January, Rev,
Hardy Jowett to Katharine
Artce WhEatrey, both W, M, S,
At Nanking, 1st P'ebruary, Mr.
Charres S. Settremyer and Miss
Edna Eva Kury.
At Shanghai, 3rd February, Mr. K.
W. SchweizER to Miss K. L. Bohn-
Ker, both C, I. M.
AT Peking, 9th February, Dr. J. Mait-
rand Stenhouse, Union Medical
College, Peking, to Miss Gwradys
Harrison Rees,
AT Shanghai, 9th February, Rev.
Wm, H, Standring to Miss Ann
Rebecca Torrence, both A, C, M,
ARRIVALS,
22nd January, Mr. and Mrs. W. T.
Girmer, C. I. M., returned from
Sweden viS. Siberia; Miss H. Anniss,
C. I. M., returned from England vi&
Siberia; Mrs. A. MEnzies, C. I. M.,
returned from England viS. Canada.
25th January, Dr. and Mrs. Jack-
son, A. C. M. (ret.).
6tli February', Dr. W. MaRCORM,
wife and three children, S. P. M.
9U1 February, Rev. L. Davies and
wife, Am. Pres. Mission, South.
13th February, Rev. A. R. Kbprer,
A. P. M. (ret.); Miss C. T. Woods,
A. P. M., from U. S. A.
14th February, Rev. T. E. Lower,
E. B. M. (ret.); Dr. E. Lewis, E. B.
M.
15th February, Mrs. J. R. Watson
and child, E. B. M. (ret.); Miss
Sadrer, E. B. M.
DEPARTURES.
31st January, Rev. E. C, Jones, M,
E. M., for U. S. A ; Rev. and Mrs.
Ridgery, A. C. M., for U. S. A.
31st January, Prof E- C. Jones, of
Foochow, M. E. M., for U. S. A.
1st February, Miss J. McIntosh,
C. P. M., for Canada.
4th February, Rev. G. L. Purran,
wife and four children, of W. M., for
England.
5th February, Mr. and Mrs. Soren¬
sen and two children, C. I. M., for
Norway,
7th February, Mr, and Mrs. Dur-
qUHART and child, C. I. M., for
England vi£L Siberia.
Sth February, Mr. and Mrs, C. H,
TjaDER and son, C, I. M., for Canada.
18th February, Miss Warmsrey, C.
M, S,, for Eugland; Miss Edwards,
C. M. S., for England; Mr. and Mrs.
A, Goold, C, I, M., for Australia;
Mr. W, D, Rudrand, Mr, and Mrs.
S. R. Crarke and daughter, Blisses
F, J, FowlE. S, A, Cream, K, M.
Ardis, H, M, Scorer, Frances
Grace, Dorothy Hope and Harord
CASSERS, all C, I. M., for England.
19th February, Drs, J, H, Sowerby
and H. B. Tayror, A. C, M,, for U.
S. A.; Rev. T. W, MitCherr, A. P.
M., for U. S. A.
20th February, Rev. J. F, BrrchEr,
wife and two children, Ref. Cb. in
U. S. A., for U. S. A.
NOTE
This photograph (see frontispiece) was taken for
the Recorder on March 16th by request of the editor
in view of my “ Diamond fubifec.”
I arrived in China April loth, 1850—my birthday—
at the age of twenty-three.
After taking my degree at the University of Indiana,
my native state, I spent three years at a theological
seminary in the same state. During the last year I filled
a chair of Greek and Latin in Anderson College, but inv
heart was set on educational work in China,
At the time of my arrival the smoke of the first war
still hung in heavy clouds, and I have lived through four
more wars, in which the Manchns vainly sought to repel
or expel the aggressive foreigner.
The frantic outbreak of 1900 has happily proved Lo
be the dawn of a new era, and all signs point lo the
triumph of the Gospel. To God be all the glory !
W. A. P. M.
Peking, March , igjo.
THE CHINESE RECORDER
AND MISSIONARY JOURNAL
Published Monthly by the American Presbyterian Mission Press,
18 Peking Road, Shanghai, China
Editorial Board.
Editor-iti-chief Rev. G. F. Fitch, d.d.
Associate Editors: Rev. W. N. Bttton and Rev. D. W. Lyon.
Bishop J. W. Bashford. Rev. A. Foster. Rev.D.MAcGiT.LiVRAY.D.D.
Rev. E. W. Burt, m.a. Rev. J.C. Garritt.d.d. Mr. G. McIntosh.
Rt.Rev. BishopC asskts. Rev. J.C. Gibson, d.d. Rev. G. F. Mosher.
Dr. J. Darroch. Rev. D. E. Hostk. Rev. A. H. Smith, d.d.
VOL. XL1 APRIL, 1910 NO. 4
Editorial
in
Custom anb
tfattb.
The topic which is brought forward for consideration
this number of the Recorder raises issues of a very
important and most practical nature for the
missionary cause in China. It is not only so
in connection with the subjects definitely referred
to in the articles which are presented, but other cognate
matters, covering the whole range of the social life of the
Chinese, must come under the review of every thoughtful
missionary who desires full equipment for service. One of
the most difficult of all the problems which lie before the
workers in this land is that of getting at the inside of the
Chinese mind. This is never accomplished save by a sym¬
pathetic study and close understanding of the social environ¬
ment and all that it includes of moral and spiritual influence.
That social custom has a very definite influence upon spiritual
outlook has been amply demonstrated, and there can be no
sufficient understanding of the spiritual problems which
confront the missionary unless consideration is given to
the existing social life and religious surroundings of the
people. The attitude of mind on the part of the worker
which shirks the labour of such study as is here dealt with or
which takes refuge in the simple unprepared pronouncement
of the Gospel revealed in the Word of God, without the
necessary consideration of the most effective lines of approach,
is a particularly lazy one, for which there is neither worthy
precedent nor sufficient excuse.
250
The Chinese Recorder
[April
At the present time we would especially urge upon the
consideration of our readers the suggestions made in connection
with the transformation of the Ch‘ing Ming
Baste* anJ) festiyal and worship at the tombs. In all places
Cb‘ma mi\Q. * K .
where there are Christian cemeteries, Christian
services might be held in accordance with the proposals
put forward in Mr. Walsh’s paper. For those who have
already made experiments in this way there remains no
doubt of the tremendous value of such services. In the
matter of memorials in the churches to the worthy and
blessed dead, it is not so easy to make any definite suggestions
which would be acceptable to all, since matters of church
custom in relation to the adornment of church buildings and
so on are here involved. But along the line of its own genius,
each of the various orders of church government in China
might proceed to some suitable form of memorial. In replac¬
ing the existing fear of the spirits of the departed by a gratitude
to God for their lives and for their eternal reward we should
certainly be doing our Chinese Christians an unspeakably
great service and remove at the same time much existing mis¬
apprehension. There can be no question of a “compromise
with idolatry ’ ’ in such a case, for, if it were so, then our own
memorials of the departed must stand condemned.
* * *
White in some religious circles in the West there seems
to be raging a conflict of opinion around the person of our
a Do matte "^° r ^ J esus Christ aiK * the credibility of the
CbrtSTaflb. !^f/ el / e ^ dS ’ ' ve are assured that in the
held of China there never was a time when
a greater or more unanimous insistance was being laid by
those who are concerned in the work of missions iSpou the
absolute necessity for preaching Jesus Christ as the one Saviour
of the world and the unique Son of God. Howsoever we may
differ upon points of criticism, inspiration and church order;
here we are at one. The Christian missionary knows by
experimental proof that no church has ever been built success¬
fully upon any other foundation than that of the truth of
the eternal Sonship of Jesus Christ. Men of genius may arise
who, by force of sympathy, fervour and intellectual ability
gather around them congregations of admirers and establish
temporary schools of thought. But upon their death these
companies are disbanded and pass away. No Christian church
1910]
Editorial
251
which has been, or is effective in world-service has ever departed
from the dogmatic teaching of the New Testament in the vital
matter of faith in the living and redeeming Son of God. This
is the starting point of all possible schemes of union, for
it is the common ground of all Christendom. And in our
endeavours to unify comprehensively the churches of Jesus
Christ, we must start from this as the central point and
work outwards. We believe it to be true that the whole
pastorate of the Christian church in China is thoroughly sound
upon this essential point.
*
Right beside the Canton Medical College rises a preten¬
tious building of three stories, well-built in modern style, which
_ _ is rented by an association of Chinese for a
Inbepenbence. medlcal scllool > and presided over by a Presby¬
terian missionary, for whose services this Asso¬
ciation pays a regular salary. Just in the rear of this building
is another well-built structure, containing auditorium with
gallery capable of seatiug perhaps a thousand, for a church,
school rooms for boys and for girls, home for the pastor, and
rooms for transient guests. Both these buildings have been
erected solely by the Chinese, largely with money contributed
by well-to-do Chinese living in the United States, planned with¬
out foreign advice or assistance, and intended as an expression
of what the Chinese ought to do and can do in the way of
independence and self-support. And as an object lesson of
what the Chinese are capable under favorable circumstances,
the buildings and the work carried on iu them are both im¬
pressive and encouraging.
* * *
There is one fact, however, that immediately impresses
itself upon one who notes the situation, and that is that
ttew problems. aU t . his is set down right beside an extensi ve
mission compound where there is a large and
well-conducted school for girls ; one of the most noted mission
hospitals in China with church accommodation for some
fifteen hundred ; as well as a large and well-equipped medical
college, and this in a city with an estimated population of
nearly two millions of people. We mention the matter to
illustrate the difficulties which are involved in the attempts,
most laudable though they are, of our Chinese, brethren after
independence and self-support. How to give advice and direc-
252
The Chinese Recorder
[April
tion where, as in this case, it was not asked for and was probably
not wanted, and might have been resented if proffered—even
though needed—is a problem which may well engage the
thought and skill of every missionary. For it is true in the
church as in the state that the Chinese people are rapidly com¬
ing to their own in the matter of self-government, and the
question now is, How we and they shall work together in
perfect concord for the one end which we all have in view, in
order that there be no clashing, no duplicating, no jealousy
or ill-will, but the acknowledged conviction that we are all
working for the one great end, and must work together until
it is accomplished. At the same time there is encouragement
and stimulus in the thought that our Chinese brethren—and
we—are gaining by each new experience. New conditions
are everywhere before us, and greater wisdom and greater
patience will be continually needed.
* * *
Special attention is again drawn to the plans which have
been made for the carrying on of Christian work in connection
with the great Nanking Exposition. The finan-
(Tbe Wanking c j a | ^ ur( j en w }^ not b e light, and it is essential
Erpoaition, cburclies and missionaries throughout
China come promptly to the aid of this most important enter¬
prise. It is one which will affect all China. From all over
the Empire men of influence will be visiting Nanking and
impressions will be produced during their visit which are likely
to last a long time and to carry far. The work it is propose d
to do in connection with the Christian Hall at the entrance
of the exhibition grounds is for the advance of Christianity
throughout China, and we trust that adequate support will be
forthcoming from every Christian centre.
The immediate expense of the project is estimated at about
$8,000.00. The raising of the large portion of this sum has
already been undertaken by the Christians of Nanking and
Shanghai. Another sum of equal amount will be required
for the carrying on of the work of preaching and teaching
through the eight months of the exhibition. There will also
be a call for the services of leading Chinese preachers from all
over the land in connection with this work, and their expenses
must be met. We heartily endorse the claims of the Nanking
brethren who have undertaken this tremendous task and are
assured that they will receive both the needed financial su pport
1910 ]
Editorial
253
SunDag School
£>ag.
and the unceasing prayers of the whole Christian community
in China. A fine opportunity is given to us here for a prac¬
tical and far-reaching demonstration of our “essential unity.”
* * *
Attention is again drawn to the fact that the 22nd
May is to be observed by Sunday Schools throughout the world
as Sunday School Day. The Convention of
the World’s Sunday School Association is to
be held in the week following the 22nd, at
Washington, and problems of world-wide Sunday School work
are to be considered there. The needs of the work in Asia
will be especially prominent in the discussions. Dr. Bailey,
the Secretary of the Association, appeals in our columns for an
observance of this day by pastors throughout this Empire,
desiring that attention be given to the history and needs of
Sunday School work. This will provide another opportunity
for forwarding the work of Sunday Schools among the mission
churches in China and for urging upon Chinese Christians the
importance of this branch of Christian missionary enterprise.
We are sure that all our readers who have responsibility,
either direct or indirect, for the conduct of services on this day
will remember the appeal of the Sunday School Association
and think of the meetings to be held in Washington. The
Rev. F. Brown, of the Methodist Episcopal Mission, will be
in attendance at the Convention as the representative of the
China Sunday School Committee, and with him is to be asso¬
ciated Mr. Harry Wade Hicks, the well-known Secretary of
the Young People’s Movement of America. The Rev. F. B.
Meyer, whose visit to China last year will be long remembered
with gratitude, is the President of the World’s Sunday School
Association and is Chairman of the Washington Convention.
* * *
A VERY remarkable official declaration lias been published
in the North-China Daily News , issued by the Governor of
Kiangsi concerning harmonious relations be¬
an ©ffiefal
proclamation.
tween the populace and churcli-members. This
high official says that “men of the West have
come to China propagating a religion whose teaching is love
to others as ourselves and exhortations to virtue generally.
The older form of this religion came to China under the
name of the Tien Tsu Cliiao, differing in various points from
Protestant Christianity. From the time that Chinese ports
254
The Chinese Recorder
[April
were opened to Western commerce, the representatives of these
two religions have come over in very great numbers. This
has been an inevitable fact in accord with modern world move¬
ment. When upsets have occurred between the populace and
the church it lias been because the local officials have adopted
mistaken measures or because the higher officials have failed
to study things ancient in the light of modern conditions . . .
From the commencement of these missions the newly-arrived
pastors have not understood the precise conditions and feelings
of the people, and even after longer residence it has been
unusual for them to mix socially with the officials and gentry.
In consequence of this aloofness suspicious have arisen . . .
But of recent years mutual understandings have developed ;
disturbances have ceased, as a consequence, and around such
places as Shanghai and Ningpo bpth scholars and merchants
have mingled with missionaries and cooperated with their work
in delightful unseverance . . . For myself, whenever a case has
arisen between church members and the ordinary populace, I
have treated both parties alike as under the same law without
any distinction . . . But when the local officials tie them¬
selves to old usages then troubles arise on all hands, for which
the religion is in nowise to be blamed. It behoves all officials
therefore to consider the matter in accordance with all law and
order so as to perfect harmonious relations . . . For mission
work is recognised by statute, and the personal freedom of
mission converts is assured to them legally, so as to avoid all
acrimony and preserve peace. And this is the more fitting in
view of the constitutional movements now in progress.”
We hope that the eminently fair and truly statesmanlike
declaration issued by the Governor of Kiangsi will receive the
attention it deserves from Chinese throughout the whole
Empire. Once again we venture the assertion, in the hope
that the influential minds in China may be led to an
understanding of the fact, that a full measure of religious
toleration would at once solve the problems presented by the
presence of the missionary.
* * *
Tfe congratulations of the missionary body will go out,
we are sure, to the veteran Dr. Martin on the occasion of his
Out Veterans. sixtieth birtllda y as a missionary to China on
April ioth. We are honoured in being able to
publish a photograph of this devoted servant of Jesus Christ,
19101
Editorial
255
and pray that lie may be spared to continue his wonderful
missionary career through many future years. Nothing is
more remarkable in the annals of Protestant missions in
China than the devoted careers of some of the leading
missionaries through a whole lifetime of service. We have
had occasion to refer to many missionary jubilees during the
past few years. We note now that the Rev. John Macgowan,
of Amoy, after completing fifty years of missionary service,
has left China for a well-earned rest in the homeland.
Congratulations and condolences are never far apart. We
regret to chronicle the death of the Rev. Dr. DuBose, of
Soochow, which took place on March 23rd. Dr. DuBose will
be remembered by the Christian church for his untiring zeal
through nearly forty years in evangelistic labours, and is sure
to be held in affectionate remembrance by future generations of
Chinese for the work he did in connection with the Anti-Opium
Reform.
* * *
WE regret that the authorship of the article which
was published in the March Recorder, dealing with the
Union Normal School in Wuchang, was ascribed to
eflCe ’ the Rev. G. A. Clayton, instead of to the Rev.
H. B. Rattenbury.
* * *
One of the Chinese ministers of the Christian church, in
preaching upon the Resurrection story of the Gospels, made the
following significant remark : “A pagoda,” he said,
®“was originally erected as a memorial to a portion
of the body of Buddha. Therefore a pagoda is a
memorial to a dead Master. But the Christian church was not
founded upon the bones of Jesus Christ. His tomb was empty,
for the Lord rose again, and our Christian churches are there¬
fore the evidence of a living Lord.” The effective difference
between a living and a dead impulse could scarcely have been
more aptly put. In spite of all the elements of uplifting
thought and all the endeavours after a pure life which Budd¬
hism represents, and in spite also of the later developments of
that faith and its remarkable reformation, things for which we
are devoutly thankful, the great difference between its precepts
and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is that which distinguishes
a dead from a living faith. Christianity is the only religion
which is founded upon optimism and lives in hope. “ Because
I live, ye shall live also.”
256
The Chinese Recorder
[April, 1910
Zhe Sanctuary
“ The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availetk much."— St. James v, 16.
“ For where two Or three are gathered together in my Name, there am I in the midst of
them."— St. Matthew xviii, 20.
“ All holiness is contained in two
points : knowledge of God and knowl¬
edge of self. Lord, make me to know
Thee and to know myself. The
prayer is short, but its meaning is
infinite. Knowledge of God elevates
the soul, knowledge of self humbles
it. The former lifts it to the abyss
of divine perfections ; the latter sinks
it to its own abyss of nothingness
and sin. And the great marvel is,
that this very knowledge of God
which lifts man up, humbles him at
the same time by the comparison of
himself with God ; and self-knowl¬
edge, while it humbles him, lifts him
up by necessitating his approach to
God as the assuager of his misery.”
Grou’s ‘‘Spiritual Maxims.”
Pray.
That the superstitions that are ac¬
tual forces iu the national life may
be transformed into as actual spiritual
power. (P. 257,)
That those who are superstitious
may be delivered from their supersti¬
tious and brought into the broad
heaven-lit region of ultimate truth.
(P. 258.)
That the Christian church in China
may imitate God’s method of adapt¬
ing God’s revelation so that people
may the better be able to receive it.
(P.269.)
That as the teachers and guides of
the Chinese there may be given to
the missionaries wisdom in directing
the change of heathen into Christian
rites. (P. 265.)
That the missionaries may have such
insight as will enable them to dis¬
tinguish clearly between customs that
are heathen and those that are only
national. (P. 270.)
That all teachers of Christianity iu
China may be given ability to a^apt
themselves to oriental life and cus¬
toms for a greater efficiency in pre¬
senting a pure Christianity. (P. 269.)
That the missionaries may not make
the mistake of regarding occident-
alization for spiritual growth. (P.
278.)
That missionaries may be careful
not to do other than conserve and
cherish all spiritual truth already
existing in the minds of the Chinese.
(P 259.)
That the leaders in the church may
not so lightly regard externals as to
present an unsympathetic religion to
the Chinese Christians. (P. 265.)
That there may in all places be
great care never to cause a Chinese
convert to give up a heathen rite
without implanting in its place a
Christian rite as its substitute. (P.
264.)
That the Chinese may learn that in
the crises of life the spiritual power
that overrules is none other than the
Christ. (P. 278.)
That the Chinese Christians may
not lose their reverence for their
dead or grow neglectful of the graves
through a misunderstanding of the
new teaching that they have accepted.
(P. 279.)
A Prayer,
O Lord God Almighty and all-merci¬
ful, cleanse those whom I have defiled,
heal those whom I have wounded,
strengthen those whom I have en¬
feebled, set right those whom I have
misled, recall to Thyself those whom
I have alienated from Thee. I pray
Thee save these sinners, save all
sinners, and amongst all sinners save
me the sinner, for Jesus’ sake, the
Frend of sinners.
Amen.
Give Thanks
For news of revival from Nan-tung-
cbow (P. 307), from Ichowfu (P. 307),
and from Manchuria (P. 308.)
For success attending labours of
the three German Missions in the
South (P. 309,)
For the earnest efforts of the Chinese
government in the matter of opium
repression and the success granted
(P. 307.)
Contributed Articles
Christian Suggestions in Chinese Superstitions
BY THE REV. W. A. CORNABY
HE return of Halley’s comet and the need of an active
propaganda to avert dynamic disaster from the various
superstitions connected with comets in China, remind
us that we are living in a land where old-world superstitions
are actual forces in the national life. From such standard books
as the very recent “ Mythology of the British Isles,” by Charles
Squire; Hazlitt's “Mythology of Shakespeare,” and Thistle-
ton Dyer’s “Domestic Folklore” a whole world of supersti¬
tion is revealed to us nearer home in ancient, mediaeval, and
quite modern times. But we question whether, since the days
when the Romans annihilated the Druid religion, any of our
Western superstitions could ever be regarded as dynamic forces
in the sense in which they are in China. The superstitions
of the West have beeu most of them modified survivals of
Celtic and Scandinavian, Roman and Saxon religious rites ;
those in China are largely survivals of an ancient indefinite
nature-worship and the still more nebulous but perfectly
serious science of luck. Thus we may define Chinese super¬
stition under two heads: (i). Credulity respecting the direct
impact of the supernatural upon the natural; (2). The notion
that good and ill luck are connected with certain actions that
have really no reference to the matter. Under the first
heading they are related to various old Roman beliefs, from
which indeed we get the Latin word superstitionem , which
we have adopted, minus two letters, as an English word ; and
under the latter heading they resemble the mass of geomantic
beliefs held by the later Assyrians and developed up from
ancient Chaldean religious observances.
In either case we have before us, in the phrase of John
Foster (“Popular Ignorance”): “A vacancy of truth, re¬
plenished with positive error,” and allowed to affect the social
and national life of this people, often in a very deleterious
manner.
Note.—R eaders of the Recorder are reminded that the Editorial Board
assumes no responsibility for the views expressed by the writers of articles
published in these pages.
The Chinese Recorder
[April
The first attitude of the young missionary towards the
superstitious around him is naturally that of a drastic icono¬
clast (which is indeed the attitude of the modern Chinese daily
press everywhere), although, of course, he will not adopt
drastic methods, and his words may be of the mildest And
with regard to several superstitions based on mistaken notions
of the universe we must feel that these things exist to be
abolished. Nor does anyone wish that any superstition what¬
ever may remain, and if the experience of others coincides
with those of a past eighteen years in Hupeh, scarcely a
vestige does remain when Chinese become Christians. But in
superstitions, as in other falsities, it is seldom that we find an
hundred percentum lie, a falsity which has uo vestige of basal
truth. And should that truth, when purged from error, be
found to be valuable, it may, in the hands of the wise, become a
useful agent for the deliverance of the superstitious from their
superstitions into the broad heaven-lit region of ultimate truth.
It may be objected that since our Chinese Christians, on
becoming such, become singularly free from superstition, it is
hardly advisable to waste time in writing or reading what
might be misconstrued as an overt apology for idolatrous
systems and superstitious generally. And it may be argued
with some reason that if the whole native press of China con¬
demns superstition root and branch (including modern Chinese
Buddhism and Taoism as a whole*) it is hardly befitting the
stated representatives of the truth as it is in Jesus to rake
among the ash heaps of decadent faiths to find bits of truth
here and there for exploitation. Further, that as St. Paul
evidently regarded all heathenism as an apostasy, we may
well regard it as such, just preaching the Gospel and have
done with it.
But on comparing Romans i. 20-21 with Acts xvii. 23,
we find that heathenism, to his mind, was both an apostasy
and a quest. The tendency of the past century was to regard
it wholly as the former ; then as a rebound, the tendency of
modern writers who have not lived in non-Christian lands is to
regard it exclusively as the latter. But a due recognition of
* During the last week of February, in two native dailies of Shanghai,
there were unmistakable indications of this attitude ; the one condemning a
certain hsien magistrate for his hobnobbing with a Buddhist monk, and the
other ridiculing the propensities of “uneducated women” for “inventing all
manner of spiritual powers, praying in temples, consulting fortune tellers, and
selecting sites for graves or dwelling-places in consultation with geomancers.”
1910 ] Christian Suggestions in Chinese Superstitions
259
both sides of the case, as with St. Paul, is the true via media
in the matter. And especially as the tendency of modem
education in China is to cast forth from the mind all belief in
the spiritual whatever, it behoves the missionary, while dis¬
countenancing all superstition and working for the complete
despotism (II. Peter ii. i, “the Despotes that bought them”)
of the Lord Jesus, in these days when, under a veritable disease
of democracy, young China is breaking loose from all rule
and authority, political, moral and spiritual,—it behoves the
missionary to conserve and cherish all absolute spiritual truth
already existing in the minds of the Chinese.
The attitude to be commended, then, is that of “ stooping
to conquer.” For we find that God did so of old in two striking
instances—making use of existing and superstitious material.
(1) . Whatever the primaeval origin of the week of seven
days, for fully two thousand years before Moses, each seven
days of the lunar month had been associated with the sun,
moon, and the five planets (quoted in China as well). And of
the days of the lnuar month the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th
were “quiet days” on which it was unlucky to change the
clothes, to offer sacrifice or worship of any sort , to eat flesh
cooked at the fire, or even in sickness to take medicine. Here
was an institution which, from time immemorial, had been
one of superstitious avoidance of both work and worship ; yet
God, through His servant Moses, laid hold of that ancient
superstition and elevated it, in connection with His finished
work of creation, into a Sabbath observance of rest for the
labourer, of refreshment for the soul, and of adoration toward
Himself.
(2) . The second instance is still more striking. In the
plague-stricken camp of Israel, Moses was divinely prompted
to lift on a pole a serpent of brass; the serpent being an object
of superstitious veneration in Egypt as connected in some way
with the healing art. How boldly then did God risk the
danger of encouraging serpent-worship itself (see II. Kings
xviii. 4) to bring His own salvation to the bodies of the
multitudes and to afford their descendants in after ages with
a type of the Saviour (John iii. 14) of more than the bodies of
men ! We are not called nowadays to run such risks as that,
but may feel justified in pointing out certain underlying
principles in the superstitions around us. The field is so wide
that a volume might well be written on the subject, but at any
260
The Chinese Recorder
[April
rate some hints and specimens of the method to be adopted
may be given as a starting point for further study on the part
of the reader.
(A) Ancestral worship seems originally to have been a
form of reverence free from prayer to, or what we of the West
now call “worship” to, the manes of the departed. As the
old Book of Rites has it: “ The object is not to pray,” but
rather to associate the spirits of the departed with the affairs of
their descendants and to secure the blessing of Heaven upon
the filial representatives of the family. Thus explained, it was
hardly a superstitious observance. And in its present super¬
stitious degeneration we may note the following : (a) It is
part of a reverence for past antiquity, the golden age, when
heaven seemed nearer to earth than at present. In other
words, the ancestral worshipper feels that somewhere in the
far horizon of the past the heavenly touched the earthly; as did
the Jews and as do we. A thought this, which the Christian
preacher may do well to utilise, for he can add the words:
“the son of Adam, the son of God.” (b) It is a recognition
of the sanctity of parentage and of the family-bond. And in
these days, when Rousseau’s dreams of living “according to
nature” are being substituted in the minds of young China
for the morality based on family relations and responsi¬
bilities, enforced by Confucius, these kindred truths need to be
kept ever to the front, (c) Ancestral worship is a protest
against the Sadncean thought that men live not again, but
perish as the brutes , for a non-existent spirit can hardly be an
object of reverence to even the most ignorant. And as the
chief ancestral worship is performed beside the graves at the
Ohing Ming festival, “ clear shining ” in Anglo-Saxon Eostre ,
we may encourage ourselves in dealing with it by considering
how that very similar grave-visitations among our remote
ancestors have merged into Easter psalms of adoration to Him
who is 1 ‘ the Resurrection and the Lfife. ’ *
(B) In Chinese idolatry there is an attempted supply of
a felt need. For ages the Supreme has been regarded (as the
Emperor is) as far too exalted to receive petitions from the
common people. The Chinese say in effect to themselves : “I
read in the classics of chieftains and rulers worshipping the
Sovereign on High. But He has become a mere ancient phrase
or idea, and I cannot worship a mere phrase or idea. If
existent above the heavens, He is too great and mysterious for
1910] Christian Suggestions in Chinese Superstitions 261
me to know or to worship. I must therefore appeal to lesser
spirits, perhaps of departed worthies, who may be regarded as
His local mandarins and constabulary.” Man needs some
divinity as an object of worship , is the truth proclaimed by
every larger temple and lesser local shrine. And further,
ghosts of deceased ancestors are insufficient for his needs.
Then in the popular form of spirit-medium stances,
although the idol is in the room with candles and incense
before it, a sort of miniature mountain-chair is held aloft and
swayed about, perhaps for an hour, to invite the spirit for which
the idol stands, to come and take up his abode in it. Which
means that the idol is not regarded as the divinity itself, but at
best his temporary resting place. Now, pinning down the
minds of our hearers to that admission, we may ask them
which is easier to believe : that a divine spirit can enter a
carved and painted log, utterly devoid of any spiritual qualities
whilst a mere log, but by the magic of a rough graving tool
and paint-brush transformed into a residence for a spiritual
being; or that, on suitable preparation and invocation, man's
living soul itself may become the abode of a great , benevolent
Spirit , already related to him as Creator and Preserver and
Saviour frojn sin? During the years when my task was to
preach to outsiders, for an hour or even two daily, in a Hankow
street chapel—and never a week without men starting up to
their feet and standing for very intensity of interest—I never
found that the above appeal failed to produce an effect.
Rather did it ever serve to introduce the main practical item
in the religion of the Bible, taken as a whole : that goodness
and godliness involve awaiting upon the Lord to gain His
indwelling presence and power over selfishness (%£ >ft), to the
strengthening of the conscience (and establishment of
the whole character . “Yes, waiting upon Him if necessary
for an hour as in the preliminaries to your own spirit stances.”
A truth which, I cannot help feeling, needs to be constantly
proclaimed from every pulpit in every land, lest dealing with
semi-prayerless hearts, our avoidance of direct reiterated teach¬
ing of this one thing needful may “make the Word of God
of none effect.”
(C) Further, in the commoner spirit-seances, and in the
more refined planchette-s^ances practiced by the scholarly in so
many guilds, we have before us no mere idle curiosity to inter¬
view the departed, but a longing for intercourse with an un -
262
The Chinese Recorder
[April
seen divinity , a belief in his nearness , and in the possibility of
such intercourse; a longing which, in its higher reaches, may
be gratified in the words : “ Our Father which art in heaven.”
We may be thankful that, with all his materialism, the Chinese
scholar has not succeeded in shutting off all belief in the
spiritual world, and may gain a leverage from practices adopted
(if in two forms) by learned and unlearned alike in our dis¬
courses upon the approachableuess of its Supreme Ruler.
(D) Yin Yang and Feng Shui may not seem promising
subjects for the Christian missionary, and yet the latter science,
based on the theory of the former, is not without its suggestive
points. Take the concrete example of a pagoda for instance.
The origin of the pagoda seems to have been an umbrella,
or umbrella-like shade placed over the ashes of the worthy,
in regions adjacent to China. From this arose a double or
treble umbrella as a mark of special honour, and finally a
solid structure with its tiers of eaves evolved from the early
umbrella design ] the object being still to mark the spot where
sacred relics of some religious worthy were deposited. China
adopted and developed the form of the pagoda, but does not
seem to liave made it a tower for the marking of sacred relics.
Introduced by Buddhism, and in the T‘ang dynasty always
associated with Buddhism, it became adopted under Feng Shui
influence as a compensation for some deficiency in the contour
of the land —a deficiency generally apparent to the artistic eye _
by which it was supposed to be unreceptive to the felicitous
influences of heaven. Far back in ancient China an uncon -
secrated mountain was regarded as an offence to heaven , and
rulers used to repair to mountain tops to worship the Supreme,
but here is the idea of providing a compensation for some de¬
fect in the lesser hills or the plains ; the pagoda being an
erection which “answered” to the influences of heaven (as
indeed the not ancient character for pagoda signifies, being
formed of earth and an answer).
First of all, we ought to consult God in the choice of a
dwelling aud kindred matters as earnestly as the Chinese may
consult a Feng Shui professor, so as to bring every part of our
lives into accordance with heavenly influences , and there should
be special heaven-pointing aspirations and prayers from those
farts of our lives which we know to have been out of touch with
the glory of God. Not only are our mountain-tops to be conse-
crated, but the workaday plains and the lesser hills of life.
1910J Christian Suggestions in Chinese Superstitions
26 }
Then in tlie Feng Shut philosophy a pagoda is “to bring
heaven and earth into concordant unity, so that they may not
be in a condition of severance,” These words, with “man”
instead of “earth,” occur in the “Maxims” of Yang Hsiung,
B. C. 53, A. D. 18), written concerning “the task of the
Sages.” Do they not apply far more surely .to One whose
Person can bring the most defective parts of human nature
into correspondence with the Divine ? And just as our Lord—
probably referring to a passage that Nathaniel had been
pondering over “ under the fig-tree”—used the ancient dream-
ladder of Jacob as a type of Himself (John i. 51), so He would
allow a Chinese imagination to picture Him as the true pagoda
of heavenly influence , raising the lowest in character and
compensating for the most distressful of circumstances.
(E) Related to Feng Shut is the superstitious notion that
every straight alley opposite the door of a dwelling is a proba¬
ble inlet of ghostly influences of unpropitious nature. Hence
the stone set in the wall, or a wooden board in lieu of the
stone, inscribed H ill ]$( that is, the defiant question:
“Darest thou (the evil influence) withstand the (power of the)
stone from (the sacred) T‘ai Mountain ?”
The first thing that strikes our olfactory sensibilities oil
close, warm days, is that such alleys are badly in need of
a quantity of literal feng and shui (wind and water) to ventilate
and flush them out, for they are choice breeding places for all
manner of disease-germs, and we admire the wisdom of Moses
in making sanitation part of the national religion, as indeed
it has come to be of late years in every enlightened land.
We have no more right in the sight of Cod to fling away our
neighbour ' 1 s health than we have to steal and sqttander his
goods. Indeed of the two crimes the latter may be the lesser.
Then comes the deeper consideration : Every inlet to our
lives a possible avenue of evil. For although 4 4 the earth is
the Lord’s,” a very considerable portion of it is under the
spell of demonaic influences. Lives wilfully exposed to temp¬
tation are sure to invite calamity, and linwatchfulness and
prayerlessness may often turn our very blessings into curses
(as in the solemn words of Malachi ii. 2). Is there anything
for us answering to a potent stone from a sacred mountain (a
mountain specially associated with the ancient worship of
God?) Nay, there is something more for us than this. A
Chinese ideal is “immovable as the (sacred) T‘ai Mountain.”
264
The Chinese Recorder
[April
The Christian ideal is “firm on the Rock of Ages:” Christ
for foundation, Christ for corner-stone; a life founded upon
that Rock, a character built up of stones quarried from that
Rock ; then in the confidence of complete prayerful reliance
upon infinite stability the most tempted believer may say to
the leagued powers of darkness: “Dare ye withstand the
power of the T‘ai Mountain?” and reading Psalm ii, may
even “learn to laugh with God.” Or, bearing in mind the
common spectacle of the slab of stone, or piece of board, may
safely sing :
“ I have a shield shall quell their rage,
And drive the alien armies back ;
Pourtrayed it bears a bleeding L,amb,
I dare believe in Jesu’s Name.”
With the above hints of an attitude and method to be
commended, one may leave the subject to be worked out
further by missionary readers, each for himself.
Memorials to the Dead and their Relation to
Christian Practice
BY REV. W. S. PAKENHAM-WALSH
ii A ND some there be which have no memorial, who
are perished as though they had not been and
are become as though they had not been born.”
This pathetic little verse occurs in the great passage in
Ecclesiasticus, beginning, “Let us now praise famous men,”
and I quote it because it must be the unuttered cry of many
Chinese Christians in our own day. There may be splendid
exceptions, but speaking generally the Chinese Christians have
no memorials and perish as though they had not been.
On becoming Christians they are cut off from their many
memorial customs ; for them the *Jf Bjj, or feast of graves, is no
more; ^ n % the ancestral worship on the 15th of the
7th moon, ceases; they cannot burn incense on the 1st day
of the 10th moon, the -f- f||, nor can they any longer join
in the home worship of ancestors with their relations at the
3l> the feast of the nth moon. In fact we hardly realize
how much in the way of heathen memorial rites they give
up, and perhaps we hardly realize how little in the way
19io]
Memorials to the Dead
265
of Christian memorial rites we give them. Our own beautifully
kept English cemeteries in China, and our many ways of keeping
in mind our loved ones, should draw out our hearts in deeper
sympathy for our Chinese brethren who have lost so much and
have so little given them to make up for it. I am speaking of
externals. We give them something worth all their old
memorials put together, but we do not give them those
external expressions of sympathy which, human nature being
wliat it is, we value ourselves and which they would probably
value even more. Some may say, indeed some have said it to
me: “This is an entirely Chinese question, and we must
leave it to the Chinese church to solve,” but while fully
agreeing that the Chinese Christians themselves must have
a large voice in any decision come to, I cannot but think
that, as their teachers and guides, we are not entitled to
shelve the problem in that way, but that it is our duty to seek
in cooperation with themselves to direct the issue, and also
that they expect us in this, as in other matters, to give them a
lead and to take them fully into our confidence.
As a word limit has been set to this paper, I shall try to
condense my thoughts into a few suggestions, which it will be
understood open to the fullest criticism.
Firstly. I would retain as fa a as possible the feast of
the I would again advocate the retention of the
name in all Christian communions. It is a beautiful title,
“the clear bright festival,” and the name has nothing
idolatrous about it. Just as we retain the old Anglo-Saxon
title Easter, so let us retain the older and more beautiful
Chinese title ^ BJJ. The two heathen festivals are almost an
exact parallel, falling as they do about the same time in spring.
We retain the old name Easter, the name of an Anglo-Saxon
goddess, but we explain our use of it by saying: “Easter, or
the festival of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Let us do exactly the same for the Chinese and accustom them
to speak of the ^ BJJ, or the festival of the resurrection of
Christ. Let us explain our English usage of Easter to the
Chinese clergy and leaders and teach them to regard in the
same way their own beautiful title. They will respond as
readily and gladly as did our forefathers, and in a very short
time the power of the Gospel will have captured what will
be to all future generations of Chinese Christians a great
possession,
266
The Chinese Recorder
[Aprfl
Secondly. I would advocate the use of Christian services
at the graves or in the Christian cemeteries. At the Pf) the
heathen are repairing their graves, covering them with paper
money and bewailing hopelessly their lost ones. Let us
show them the better way. It was a great surprise to me
to know that many were already working along this line and
that in several places such services had already been begun.
“Twice a year, on Easter and All Saints’ Day, we visit
the cemeteries in a body ; the whole congregation following
choir and clergy in procession. Hymns such as ‘ The strife is
o’er, the battle done,’ ‘For all the saints who from their
labours rest,’ are sung at the graves, prayers and thanksgivings
are said, teaching and preaching follow by several speakers,
directed at first to the Christians and afterwards to the crowds
of non-Christians who have flocked around ; ” this is an extract
from a letter from a member of the Episcopal Mission in
Hankow. “ We have on Easter Sunday gathered a congregation
of our people in the church cemetery and there held a service
of thanksgiving for the hope of the Gospel. Our service this
last Easter took this form ; we sang, first of all, the hymn,
Give me the wings of faith to rise
Within the veil and see
The saints above, how deep their joys,
How bright their glories be.
Then we had the reading of Scripture, suitable passages,
and an address; a hymn for the children, ‘There is a Happy
Land,’ a prayer, and closed with the hymn, ‘Come let us
join our cheerful songs with angels round the throne.’ This
service is now in its third year, and it has been a success, having
met a decided need on the part of our Christians.” This is an
extract from a letter which I received last year from a member
of the London Mission. I mention these as examples of what
is being actually done, nor does there seem to be any reason
why similar services should not be held with advantage and
blessing by every communion all over China. Indeed the
Anglican Communion is already planning for such a move.
The Anglican Conference at Shanghai in 1909 A.D. appointed
a committee to prepare and report to the next conference
among other services a special service “for use at graves at
the Ch’ing Min Festival.”
In connection with these services we might also change
the heathen custom of covering the graves with paper into
1910]
Memorials to the Dead
267
the more generally recognised Christian custom of laying upon
them white flowers, symbolic of the white robes and purity of
heaven. Also at this season at least, if not oftener, the
Chinese Christians might be encouraged to repair and tend
their graves, an office of love now sadly neglected and which
must at times lead to a misunderstanding of the Christian
position and be a real hindrance to our work.
Thirdly. I would advocate the use of some kind of
memorial tablet. I am well aware that on this point we shall
not all immediately agree and also that such a vexed question
must finally be settled by the Chinese themselves. There are
those who believe that the old ancestral tablets can be dis¬
associated from idolatry and be continued to be used by the
converted families. There are others who think that a new
form of tablet, or at least a new tablet, is an essential, and it
may be that until the time when the church in China is strong
enough and united enough to suggest some one common
practice that in this matter various uses may obtain. In the
Chinese Anglican Cathedral at Hankow at the present time
the names of all the members of the congregation who have
died within the year are read out on All Saints’ Day, and their
names are inscribed upon large and handsome tablets of black
enamelled wood, hung on the walls of the nave near the seats
of the Christians. Appropriate texts are embossed in gilt
characters at the top of the tablets, of which there are eight.
Each tablet is planned to be large enough to contain the names
of all those who pass to the life beyond the grave within a
period of five years. These tablets were all given by the Chinese
Christians themselves in memory of the late Bishop Ingle.
This idea of making tablets to take the place of the
ancestral tablets was proposed a good many years ago by Pastor
Kranz, and it may finally commend itself to the Chinese
church as the solution of the problem. At the same time we
should remember the casting away or destruction of the old
ancestral tablets is forbidden by existing Chinese law. A
speaker at a recent conference in Shanghai drew attention to
the law under which the Chinese now live, namely, that “to
cast away or destroy the ancestral tablet is like casting away
or destroying the corpses of parents. The penalty for such an
offence is decapitation.”
Is it too bright a hope to entertain that as the Chinese
church becomes more enlightened and waxes stronger in faith
268
The Chinese Recorder
[April
and knowledge, it may prove to us and to all men that the
Gospel is the power of God even unto the salvation of the
ancestral tablets from the superstitions which have entwined
themselves around them? Meanwhile might we not follow
the lead of Hankow, using the new Christian tablets in our
churches while leaving the old ancestral tablets an open
question for the home ?
Fourthly. We might introduce much more widely the idea
of memorials in the churches, such as pulpits, reading desks,
fonts, etc. I hesitate to say stained glass'windows, though
I know of at least one church in China where stained glass
memorial windows have been put up. But when leading
Chinese Christians are called Home, the subject of a memo¬
rial might then be discussed and much might spring from
such discussions. “Some there be,” nay, many of our best,
“which have no memorial who are perished as though they
had not been.”
Not long ago l suddenly met wliat I at first sight took for
a heathen funeral procession. In front came a native band,
followed by men carrying flags and banners. I did not at once
notice that on the banners were Christian texts and mottoes ;
then came the coffin covered by a large Chinese red canopy ;
close behind the coffin followed a chair carrying what I at first
thought was the aucestral tablet, but which I discovered to be
a picture of the deceased, an elderly Chinese gentleman. My
curiosity being aroused I followed to the grave, and to my
astonishment heard the strains of a Christian hymn and realized
that I was attending a Chinese Christian funeral. Great
crowds had conic together, and an old missionary with white
hair, standing by the open grave, spoke to them of the
Christian hope of immortality and fuller life beyond. It was
all so Chinese and from their point of view so reverent and
impressive that my Western prejudices and consternation soon
gave way to admiration, and the conviction was once more
impressed upon me, a conviction which I would in turn seek
to impress upon others, that in our attitude towards these
old Chinese customs we must, to a much greater extent
than at present, become Chinese that we may win Chinese,
retaining all that is good in the old, while supplementing and
enriching the Chinese church from our own rich. Western
store.
1910 ] Some Chinese Feasts and the Christian Attitude
269
Some Chinese Feasts and the Christian Attitude
Towards Them
[The major portion of the first half of the following article, stating the
problem brought forward for discussion, is taken from a paper read by the
Rev. G. F. Mosher before a conference of the American Episcopal Church
Mission held in Shanghai. The responsibility for the suggestions contained
in the second half of the paper rests, however, with the compiler.— Editor,]
A DAPTATION has ever been one of the predominant
characteristics of the Christian church. A completed
revelation on the part of God did not mean the completed
apprehension of that revelation on the part of His people ; as new
conditions were met they would call for new aspects of Christian¬
ity, and though these aspects were not wanting, it is scarcely to
be expected that their presence could be immediately recognised.
God’s method with the Jews becomes our consoling thought in
those moments of depression when it seems that the great forces
of heathenism cannot be overthrown. It also becomes the model
upon which we must build our work. Perfectly adapting His
revelation as He did to that which the Jews from time to time
were able to receive, Helias set for us an example of adaptation
upon which must depend all of our success. History shows us
conclusively that the rapidity and thoroughness of the triumph
of Christianity has ever been in direct proportion to its adaptive
powers. Christianity, when it is brought for the first time to
a non-Christian people, is indeed a stranger in a strange land.
This was never more true than it is in the present day when,
having been thoroughly adapted to the Occident, it is brought
from the west back to the east, in which it bad its origin, to be
once more adapted to the orient. But the more one studies
the problem the more vivid becomes his realization that it is
not Christianity but the Christian that is to be adapted. There
is scarcely anything more striking in the whole study of the
Bible than the way in which the customs of the Chinese inter¬
pret some of the most difficult passages in the Old or even in
the New Testament. And it is this fact which gives occasion
for the paper on the need of adaptation.
One of the greatest obstacles to the progress of the church
in this empire is the inability of the modem missionary to
adapt himself to oriental life. We who are born and trained
in lands that are esssentially Christian and are brought up to
view our religion as the only perfect one, acquire a subconscious
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[April
but very real and vivid impression that in Christianity is to be
found nothing but good, while in all other religions one looks
for little that is good. Modern missions had their inception
tinder such a conception of the religious life of the world, and
perhaps it is not too much to say that of the new arrivals in
mission fields to-day only an exceedingly small proportion are
free of the necessity for unlearning it. The argument would be
simply, Where there is not pure doctrine there cannot of course
be pure life. And herein, curiously enough, lies the root of the
belief that it is useless to labour for the salvation of heathen
peoples. There are those who conceive that the Chinese, being
believers in, and a product of, a false religion must of necessity be
a false people. They are not exactly human with human souls.
This point of view is in evidence among many whom we meet
in the home land. Later, as we journey to our fields of labour,
it is streuuously forced upon us by our fellow-passengers on the
great ocean steamers, and when we have arrived at our destina¬
tions we find large communities of men and women whom we
can in many ways respect and admire, who presumably know
the natives and native life and to whom the question has
ceased to be one that admits of any doubt whatever. Yet we
can lose neither faith nor courage. Christianity has done
wonderful things for our forefathers. Personally we have come
to know Christ by what He has done for ourselves. And so,
somewhat with faint hearts possibly, but with hope ever strong,
we take up our task.
The first awakening soon comes. Some older missionary
lets fall a remark with regard to some form of Chinese life that
it is superior to the same thing at home. Our suspicions are
aroused. Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? But
shock follows shock until we become accustomed to the idea
that in truth every product of the native religion is not neces¬
sarily bad. Indeed we one day find ourselves coming to
similar thought about certain customs without help from
others. Again and again we have this experience until finally
all our thinking powers are aroused and our minds are turned
to the solution of this new problem. We ask how these things
that seem so purely the product of Christian teaching have come
to be part aud parcel of the life of a people to whom Christian¬
ity is as yet practically unknown. Further enquiry develops
the fact that they have been found already existent by the
church before the days of present missionary effort. It is not
271
1910] Some Chinese Feasts and the Christian Attitude
true then that all the good things of this world found their
origin in historic Christianity. Our minds thus are opened to
the whole question of what Christianity owes to the many
religions, or rather to the many customs which are the outcome
of the religions with which it has been in contact.
A study of auine of the Christian rites and ceremonies
common to all the churches will show the presence of much
which is not Christian in origin but which has become so by
adoption. It has ever been a principle of the Christian church
to make use of heathen ceremonies by taking them bodily and
changing such portions of them as were distinctly contrary to
the teaching of Christianity and also leaving such as were the
offspring of the national life, and using existing festivals which
have a strong hold upon the people and have dominated their
lives, by establishing festivals similarly great, making them
similarly attractive with the frank intention of entirely over¬
throwing their rivals. The festivals of Easter and Christmas
and many of the ceremonies connected with weddings and
funerals may be instanced as cases in point. Pagan Rome,
Teutonic folklore, and Druid festivals have each in their turn
been used to contribute to the conquest of the Christian church
in the lands of Europe.
CHINESE RITES AND CEREMONIES.
Upon us, as founders of the Christian church in China,
there lies a great responsibility : “Just as the twig is bent the
tree’s inclined.” There are in the world but few scholars
who are capable of discerning the essential differences in men
of various races or nations ; there are in the church but few
theologians who are capable of distinguishing between the
essentials and non-essentials of Christian teaching. We as a
body are, for the most part, included iu neither class, and yet
we have to accomplish a work based on the findings of both.
Our problem is in the concrete, however, through being limited
in scope to a single nation, and herein lies that which removes
all sense of oppression at thought of the magnitude of the task.
We are to study the customs of the Chinese people, discover
which of them are heathen and which are national, adapt
the former and allow the latter to take care of themselves.
The difficulty of the task lies in the fact that in China, as else¬
where, the customs of the people are not heathen or national
but heathen and national, The two are so inseparably woven
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[April
as to be well-nigh indecipherable ; yet this is not invariably
the case, and there are instances in which it would seem that
we have not made the progress that c~v.V •'easonably have been
expected. Whether difficult or simple, it were inexcusable in
us not to attack tlie problem with the same earnestness and
fearlessness that we have seen characterised the church in her
beginnings in other lands.
Our concern to-day is, first, to enumerate the more im*
portant of Chinese festivals and to note something of what
they mean and how they are celebrated. Second, to suggest
a means by which they can be adapted to Christian use.
MARRIAGE CUSTOMS.
In regard to marriage in China our course is plain. Bishop
Graves has given to us, in No. 2 of the Morrison Society
Papers, an account of the essentials of a Chinese wedding,
which I shall take the liberty to quote as it stands
" The customs used in Chinese marriages fall naturally into
two divisions : those of the betrothal and those of the wedding.
(Betrothal).—In Chinese betrothals the important point for
us to notice is that the parties concerned are cot the principals.
The contract is really made between the families of the future
bride and groom as represented by the heads of the respective
families, those in whose pairia potestas the persons to be betrothed
stand. This is the first and most fundamental distinction between
Chinese and Christian marriage. Among the Chinese the heads
of the families alone choose, and the inclination of the principal
parties is not consulted.
The preliminary negotiations are carried on through go-
betweens (/^ A)- When an agreement has been brought
about, presents are sent to the family of the bride ^t), and
cards with the names and date of birth of the parties are in¬
terchanged ($f fe)- 1^ these are accepted a settlement is effect¬
ed by sending proof ($ ft), and a contract is written called
I! ip. The festivities of the betrothal then commence. The
services of a fortune-teller are usually asked to determine
whether the horoscopes of the parties, as expressed in the
cards (/V ^), allow them to marry. The parties are now
betrothed, and the binding character of the betrothal is such
that it gives both parties a right to sue for the conclusion of the
marriage and will be enforced by the courts.
(The Wedding).—Years may pass, and usually do pass,
before the conclusion of the marriage. When the time comes,
presents of different sorts ($J ffc) are sent to the father of the
bride and a further document (f| ^) is exchanged. In this
contract the number of the presents and amount of money to be
sent to the bride’s family are expressly stipulated. Then a day is
fixed for the marriage (If ffl).
1910] Some Chinese Feasts and the Christian Attitude
273
On the day before the wedding-day the presents, furniture,
clothing, etc., of the bride are carried through the streets in pro¬
cession to the bridegroom’s house.
On the wedding-day the bridegroom goes in person to the
bride’s house to bring her honi' 1 .
The bride, seated in a red chair, is brought in procession to
her new home, where she is formally received by the bridegroom.
The bride and groom wor-liip heaven and earth and
enter the bridal chamber, where they drink cups of wine, which
they exchange with each other, and the marriage is finished. The
wife is considered to have left forever her own family and to
belong henceforth to the family of her husband (fcij ^).
A curious and coarse custom of playing practical jokes on the
married pair, called ‘nao-fang’ (pr^ ]|f), follows on the cere¬
mony and there is the usual feasting, which accompanies all
transactions of importance in China.
These are the customs in brief which are generally used in
Chinese betrothals and marriage throughout the empire, though
every place has more or less of local customs which need not
concern us here.”
FUNERAL CUSTOMS.
When a Chinese becomes so seriously ill as to alarm his
family, they immediately have recourse to a variety of supersti¬
tious practices in the hope, not so much of curing, as of
exorcising the malady and so restoring him to health. They
propitiate divinities, expel various deadly influences, appease
an angry god, repeat the formula for dissolving grudges, invite
the god of medicine to the house, get ten men to become
“security” for the sick person, call back the departing spirit,
follow the directions of a certain book of charms, burn a paper
image as a substitute, and so on ad infinitum . In spite of
them all every Chinese eventually dies, probably in his best
clothes and in the main room of the house, to which he is
carried when hope is abandoned. The priests are then called,
a tablet set up by his side, a near-by table is prepared with
food, lamps, and incense, wailing is commenced, which is main¬
tained principally by the women of the house, paper-money is
burned, lanterns—white ones—hung at the door, a mat porch
is put up, the musicians are called and the caterer notified.
The body, sumptuously dressed, is put into as expensive a
coffin as the family feel able to buy and a necromancer
is called to find a lucky place for interment. From death
to burial a longer or shorter time may elapse according
to circumstances; whatever the length of time, from one
end of it to the other, there is a succession of rites and
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[April
ceremonies and feastings that are so scrupulous!}' formal and
exact and so confusedly mixed together that I confess myself
utterly baffled in my attempt to give a brief description of the
essentials. With just one further remark, then, we shall leave
this portion of our subject for the present. Amongst a people
of such exceedingly strong affections as the Chinese it is
impossible that there should not be great sorrow and a sense of
real bereavement at the death of a loved one, but so elaborately
and superstitiously formal are all of their ceremonies at this
time that their real feelings are completely misrepresented, and
to a Christian this is the most cruel part of it all.
OTHER FESTIVITIES.
During the course of a year there are fourteen festivals
observed by the Chinese, which I have roughly divided into
four classes.
I. Those when financial obligations must be met.
The greatest festival of the entire year is that of the New
Year. The first day itself is the greatest, but the real festival
extends through the fifth day and to a smaller extent through
the fifteenth. This festival has its preparation, and also,
as I have stated, its following days, all business obligations
must be met, New Year’s calls are paid, and everywhere
are feasts.
The 23rd Day of the 12th Moon, known as Song-tsau-
kyuin fjg J|) is the anticipatory day, when the household
god’s paper representation is burned (probably outside the back
door, as being nearest to the kitchen where he resides), thus
sending him to heaven to make report of his family before
Nyok- wanng-da-ti. Z-koo ($£ and red sugar are eaten
by the people on this day they are sticky, and the inference
is that if the tsau kyuin (|g |£) should eat them his lips would
stick together, so that when asked a question by his superior
be would be able to reply only in the affirmative by “5-,”
il z" (hence the name u Z-koo") and so make report of
nothing but the good.
On the 5th Day of the 1st Moon the shopkeepers extend
a welcome to Dze Zung Lem Ya (ffj ijiljJ qg ^), the god of riches
or money. Thus they insure good business, which is riches,
for the year. The rite consists merely in setting off fire¬
crackers, and there is a small feast ou the night of the
4th and the morning of the 5th.
1910] Some Chinese Feasts and the Christian Attitude 275
On the 15th Day of the 1st Moon is held the feast of
lanterns, known as Nyoen-siaii-tsih (jq $ fjJ). At night
lighted lanterns are hung, and the children have rabbit
lanterns or horse lanterns for playthings. On this day the
household god returns and once more takes up his abode
in the kitchen. The people eat yoen-ts T) which, being
round in shape, symbolizes completeness, in the hope that
thus all they undertake during the year will be completed.
This is the last festival immediately connected with the
New Year.
On the 5th Day of the 5th Moon, once more all debts
must be cancelled. This festival is known as Toen-ng
or Tanng-ng >, and has a touching story connected with
it. In ancient times there was a mandarin, named Choeh
Nyoen . high in the state and much esteemed by the
Emperor for his singleness of purpose and devotion to country.
But jealousy was finally aroused, and the Emperor degraded
him. Disappointed and chagrined he threw himself into a
creek and was drowned. The people, however, were devoted
to him and deified him. Boats made in the form of dragons
(hence the popular English designation of the day as the
u dragon-boat festival”) go about on the creeks for the
purpose of finding his body aud bringing it to land, and from
them rice is thrown into the water for him to eat. As sug¬
gestive of this rice thrown to him, the people feast on Tsoug-ts
m f), which is rice wrapped ill a leaf.
A third aud last time accounts are cleared on the 15th Day
of the 8th Moon, known as Pah-nyoeh-pen (7\ M •N 2 ) °r Tsong-
Is^ieu ( 4 » 1^); in English the mid-autumn festival. This is
really a festival in honour of the harvest 1110011, observed
because the moon has a ring around it and puts out all of its
glory. The people eat nyoeh-ping ( p} fj[) or moon cakes and
burn incense made into shapes of baskets, towers, etc.
II. The Worship of Ancestors.
In the 3rd Moon occurs TsHng-ming (^ ) or the feast
of graves. The mandarins go to the ancestral halls of the city
in which they hold office, and there burn incense and candles
to show their respect for the dead. The people go to the
graves of their respective ancestors, upon which they put food
and burn paper money, all of which is for the use of the dead
in the regions beyond. Some of the people have feasts at
home, but the emphasis of the ceremonies on this day is laid
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[April
on those at the graves. There is also a procession, and the
five gods (generally but not always supposed to be those of
gold, wood, water, fire, and earth) are carried to the public
burying ground.
On the 15th Day of the 7th Moon, kuown merely as TsHk~
7 iyoeh-pen ip) there is ancestral worship in the homes.
Offerings of food are made on the home altar and afterwards
eaten by the family. There is also a procession similar to the
one of TsHng-ming .
On the 1st Day of the 10th Moon, known as Zeh-nyoeh -
tsau (-p ^ J^) food is placed and incense burned on the home
altar. Also there is the third and last procession of the gods
to the public burying ground.
In the nth Moon occurs Tong-ts (%■ jg), or the first
day of winter. This is one of the greater festivals of the year.
It is, in a way, everybody’s birthday, and though it is more
usual to count a person a year older 011 New Year’s Day, it is
really on this day that the count should be made. Ancestors
are worshipped at home in the same way as before, and at night
nearly every family has a feast, especially the rich, who wear
their full robes. A proverb says : Toug-Is-doo-koo-sing-nyien
(* S * ift ®r $), that is, Tong-ts is greater than New
Year’s Day.
III. Beginnings of Seasons.
In the 1st Moon occurs Lih-ts l ung or the first day
of spring. On this festival all civil mandarins worship a
paper cow in the courtyard of the yamen and whip it three
times. There is then a rush on the part of the yamen-runners
and other people present to secure the different parts of the
cow. The main object is to secure the head, as this promises
success throughout the year in catching thieves and other
culprits! I am unable to find any explanation of this worship
of the cow.
During the 4th Moon comes Lih- K au (jJ; J[), the first day
of summer. The people weigh themselves “ to see,” as I have
heard it stated, “what progress they have made during the
year.” They also drink fermented rice wine and eat salted
eggs, plums, etc., as these are supposed to prevent sickness in
the summer.
The first day of winter, because of the nature of its
observance, we have already noticed under the division relating
to ancestor worship.
1910J Some Chinese Feasts and the Christian Attitude 2 77
IV. Miscellaneous.
There remain two festivals that are not in any of the three
classes given.
On the 30th Day of the 7th Moon is the birthday of the
god of earth, known as Di-dzaung-ivaung-boo-sah-sang-nyih
(16 H? 3E H H 0 }. When the god of earth opens his eyes
the moon will shine, and therefore people can see. This
festival is observed by burning incense-sticks in the door-way
at night.
On the 9th Day of the 9th Moon is Dzong-yang (Jr |*§),
when people eat dzong-yang cakes. The general thought of
the day seems to be one of increase, principally in knowledge.
Of course there are other feasts than these and other ways
of observing these than the ways mentioned. One may not
generalise for the whole of China, as customs differ so very
greatly from place to place. I think, though, that we have
now come to the point where we are ready in a measure to
make some suggestions as to how the church may best adapt
herself in accordance with her old custom to the needs and the
pleasures of the people.
II.
At the outset of the consideration of the right Christian
attitude towards Chinese festivals the categorical imperative of
the faith must be fixed in mind. No terms can be suggested
in regard to idolatry, where it is recognized as such, and there
can be no compromise with evil. But we are here dealing
with matters which are not inherently evil and are frequently
only adventitiously idolatrous. In the matter of marriage and
funeral customs, to which our attention must be first and chiefly
given, since here arise practical difficulties constantly affecting
the work and administration of the church from within, it has to
be noted that these customs, wheresoever they may be found,
have been built up upon a religious foundation. Whatever
superstitious extravagances and vicious practices may have
accrued to them, there remains no doubt of their prime religious
significance. Here, then, is a common starting point, At the
basis of the customs observed in connection with weddings and
funerals (aud likewise, clearly enough, in connection with
ancestral worship) we find a factor which is one in purpose and
instinct, though differing wudely in degree and value, with the
Christian attitude. That is, we have already to hand for our
The Chinese Recorder
[April
278
Christian service an essential, the parallel, as it were, of the
spiritual nature of man in connection with the work of preach*
ing, which it is our business to make use of for the purpose
of the conversion of custom. That essential may be summed
up thus: ‘ In the crises of life (and death is its last crisis) it is
spiritual power which overrules.’ And in our use of it we are
on sure ground, for we are at one in such an attitude w T ith the
divine process of revelation and with the method of the apostolic
and historic Church of Christ. The Christian method of attack
not only ought not to be, but it need not be, the frontal one of
destructive overthrow, since much that is already contained in,
and an indispensable part of, the customs under consideration
is ours to commandeer for Christ. It awaits only the gift of
right direction to become our most potent ally.
It is very needful to remind ourselves of the plain fact that
it is only with matters that are universally and spiritually
essential that the Christian missionary to a non-Christian people
is directly concerned. There is nothing in the Gospel which we
proclaim which makes it any part of the work of the Christian
church to change the forms of habit or custom in order to pave
the way for the occidentalization of the world. The Gospel
is our charge, not sociology. Our action and attitude should be
such as to make it evident that while Christianity is bound to
develop certain aspects of existing national life in a given direc¬
tion wherever it is preached, it is no part of its programme to
denationalize. Were it possible for every missionary to couie
to a true understanding of how much that is merely national
or Western in form, has been superimposed upon the foundation
facts of the New Testament injunction, and how much that is
expedient in the W r est, is not merely unessential but definitely
inexpedient in Eastern lands, many of our difficulties in dealing
sympathetically and practically with such customs as we are
discussing would disappear. The test to be applied is con¬
sistency with pure doctrine and Scripture precept and not that
of comparison with the practice of the churches we represent
in this Eastern land.
In a consideration, therefore, of the marriage customs in
vogue in China attention should be given to certain proceedings
in our Western Christian mode, which are common to our
churches, but altogether unessential to the act of marriage
viewed as a religions ceremony. Some of these may be,
and are, not merely inexpedient but truly distasteful to the
19101 Some Chinese Feasts and the Christian Attitude 279
oriental mind. Neither the absence of a certain formula, nor
of the passing of a ring, nor of the declaration on the part
of a minister, may be held necessarily to invalidate the mar¬
riage service so long as certain root essentials are observed.
Marriage is at once a legal contract and a religious act to the
Christian mind, and the legal contract of the West is not that
of the East. In its relation to marriage, here as in Western
lands, the task of the church is to harmonize the legal and the
religious forms of the service.
In China the law requires a previous regular contract,
a mutual parental consent and recognition and a formal public
declaration of union. Custom demands the worship of heaven
and earth and the drinking of a cup of wine by the groom and
bride. Other numerous customs are involved which are bound
to exhibit, and are indeed rapidly undergoing, change as the
nation moves along the path of social progress.
Now the church has to recognize and endorse these
legal claims. It may modify them, but its marriages must be
legal. What it has to eliminate, or rather transform, is the
worship of heaven and earth, making the act one of worship
of the eternal and true God. It has also by education and
precept to sanctify the whole conception of the marriage rite.
But it should do this on a basis of Chinese custom and not of
Western practice. By its insistence upon the religious nature
of marriage, as a matter which concerns the welfare of indivi¬
dual souls as well as the convenience of families, it is also
bound, sooner or later, to modify the existing harsh and
unsatisfactory method of impersonal betrothal.
So also in matters connected with funeral and kindred
ceremonies, the relation of the living with the dead and of the
dead with the spiritual world, our work is that of wise Chris¬
tian conservation. Wrongly enough, but very certainly, the
word has gone forth over all China that foreigners have neither
regard nor reverence for their dead. Is not the indiscriminate
break which Chinese Christians have generally been taught to
make between the old and the new ways of life largely respon¬
sible for this unfounded report ? Has the method of the
missionary taken away too much and given too little in return ?
Chinese are often astonished beyond measure by the first sight
which is given them of our foreign cemeteries in the treaty
ports. The neatness, the obvious care and attention given
to the dead is so entirely opposed to what they have heard
280
The Chinese Recorder
[April
in this respect that they are filled with admiration. Iti deal¬
ing with the question of cemeteries there is a great oppor¬
tunity given to the Christian church. Means, too, should
be devised whereby rites and ceremonies which are now
in the hands of the Buddhist and Taoist priests shall be
replaced by definite services of Christian prayer. It is not
sufficient simply to evict those customs which, however
degraded, are yet the proof of imperishable spiritual desire in
the hours of life’s deepest need. Something positive must be
provided. For the spiritual nature, equally with material
nature, abhors a vacuum. Our pastors cannot be too assiduous
in their attendance upon Christian families which are suffering
loss by death.
Likewise in the matter of the memorials of the dead it
would seem that in our laudable endeavour to avoid the
dangers of ancestor worship we have erred in excess on the
other side. In a laud where the presence and the memorials of
the dead call forth expressions of deep reverence and devotion
from the living we have failed to use aright this most effective
instrument for Christian service. Surely we may obtain, as
we may also confer, much benefit from a wise recognition
of such customs. Is it not remarkable that the festival
of Ching Ming has not been generally laid hold of for this
purpose ? Here is a festival purer in name, more uplifting in
character and altogether less pagan in association than the
old Easter ; nevertheless our Christian Easter has become to
us perhaps the most spiritual and soul-inspiring of all the
feasts in the church calendar. Ching Ming should surely be
taken and renewed in the name of Christ and in the power of
His resurrection.
Again it is no part of our Christian duty to attempt to
fasten upon the Chinese church our Western calendar. There
is no sufficient reason to urge against the keeping of the Easter
festival at the Ching Ming season. It is helpful doubtless to
keep holiday with the church universal ; the reform of the
national calendar, which is proceeding apace and is only a
question of time in China will, however, attend to that. In
the religious observance of the New Year there is no need to
intrude our Western reckoning upon the Chinese Christians. It
is rather the privilege of the foreign worker in China to join
whole heartedly with the Christian observance of New Year as
it is. The institution of a watch night service of an especially
281
1910] Some Chinese Feasts and the Christian Attitude
impressive character, should take the place of the old heathen
custom of worship in the temples and serve to greet the coining
year. Through the special New Year season united services
of praise are already common, and it is an illustration of the
value of the whole position herein urged to note how enthusias¬
tically the Chinese have taken up a modified observance of the
united week of prayer. Once the way has been opened they
are keen in response to the effort to turn old festivals into ways
of Christian life.
Missionary effort is but at the threshold of the many
opportunities which lie before it, and as the Christian mission¬
ary learns, in consultation with the best and wisest of his
Chinese fellow-workers, the inner meaning and hidden sancti¬
ties of existing festivals and ceremonies he cannot fail to find a
better and a surer method of overcoming the false with the true
by a wise adaptation than any process of mere iconoclasm can
prove. There could never be, as there need not be, any
slurring over of idolatrous wickedness or superstitious ’folly,
but there should be a ready recognition of any present good
and a constant prayer for wisdom and guidance in making
the adaptation of existing usage for the conversion of the
people of the Empire. It is better because it is wiser, as
it is indeed also more scriptural and more accordant with
scriptural precedent; more true also to God, since in line
with His divine method in revelation, to lead men from
what of truth they have to what He would have them attain
to. The very fact and process of conversion is a turning, not
a breaking nor a mere destruction ; it is the expulsion of evil
by the possessive power of good. There remains the same
soul, the same life, but the changed heart and the new
outlook. As to the individual, so through him to the nation.
We are called and commissioned by our missionary service to
the task of converting the festivals of the China calendar
and the social and rejigious customs of the Chinese people.
It is the Chinese Church of Christ which is our concern
and to which we owe duty.
W. Nelson Bitton.
282
The Chinese Recorder
[April
Anglican Church Orders and the Problem of Unity
To the Editor of
“The Chinese Recorder.”
Dear Sir : We are indebted to you for keeping the subject of
church unity constantly before the missionary body in China.
We all feel the urgency of the question.
Some months ago you appealed to the Anglican Church to
come to a definite conclusion as to the meaning to be attached
to the phrase “the historic episcopate” and you add these
words : “Projects for union which would otherwise be march¬
ing solidly forward are halting to-day upon the opinion of
our brethren, the leaders of the Anglican Communion.” I feel
inclined to doubt this statement, but the reason why no answer
has been given to your appeal is not only that the leaders of
the Anglican Communion have not since met, but because
that church does not wish to define its opinion on the subject
of the Christian ministry otherwise than is done in its Articles
and in the Preface to its Ordinatiou Services, documents which
everyone has in his hands.
The lines there laid down have been followed in drawing
up a constitution, at present provisional, for the church which
we hope will be formed by the union of the English and
American Dioceses in China. In the preamble to that con¬
stitution it is stated that we “maintain the ministry of the
church which we have received through the episcopate in
the three orders of bishops, priests, and deacons, which orders
have been in Christ’s church from the time of the apostles.”
We there state how ■we have received the three-fold ministry
and the time from which we believe it to have come. We do
not express any opinion as to the orders of others or make any
deduction as to the superiority of our own.
Different opinions are of course held by individual mem¬
bers and groups of members within our church. It is so,
surely, in every church whose ideal is inclusive and not ex¬
clusive. These opinions are allowed in the church, though
not endorsed by its authority. As regards episcopacy and its
value, various opinions are held. The opinion of a large sec¬
tion is represented by the Bishop of Durham, Dr. H. C. G.
Houle, and I venture to send you a copy of a paper of his, read
lately before a gathering of about 1,500 clergy in Eondon,
1910] Anglican Church Orders and the Problem of Unity 283
His name carries so much weight in China that I hope you
may find room for a reprint of his moderate exposition of
episcopacy in the pages of the RECORDER.
Our ambition is the formation of a church widely inclusive.
There must be a common standard of essential doctrine, a
common participation in baptism and the Lord’s Supper,
and a common ministry. Given unity in these things we may
claim that we are one church. Within it a large diversity
may be permitted, and will even be a sign of health. We of
the Anglican Communion have learnt to tolerate and even to
rejoice in a large measure of diversity. We look forward
then with confidence that such questions as the recognition of
ministers ordained and Christians admitted before the time of
union will be easily decided by consultation when the time
comes. Let others remember that the Church of England has
always recognized the validity even ot lay baptism and has
constantly admitted to her communions Christians of other
denominations in the largest spirit of charity.
The hope for reunion is in comprehension as regards
opinion and practice and not in exclusion, and, as Bishop
Graves said in the February Recorder, in putting ‘‘mere
theological opinions into a subordinate place.”
Believe me, yours truly,
Herbert J. Molony,
Bishop.
Ningpo, March 14th, 1910,
Address by the Rt. Rev. H. C. G. Moule, Bishop of Durham
The Church of England, true to its character and genius,
litters itself with equal decision and restraint upon the theory
and functions of the ministry. Its leading utterances are
given in the Twenty-third Article and in the preface to
the Ordinal. The Article speaks decisively for the normal
necessity of commission through the church in order to
regular ministry in the church. The bearer of the office of
preaching and of ministration of sacraments must be lawfully
called and sent ; called and sent by men who themselves have
commission to do so. The preface speaks with much more
detail about both office and commission. It affirms that it is
historically certain that “from the apostles’ time there have
been these orders; Bishops, priests, and deacons;” that these
were “evermore” regarded as so sacred that their proposed
bearers were first tested as to qualification and then admitted,
284
The Chinese Recorder
[April
“by lawful authority*” with prayer and the significant act of
the laying-on of hands. Further, to secure historical con¬
tinuity for this triple order, and to surround it with “reverent
esteem,” the church decrees that episcopal consecration or
ordination shall be, for all her ministers, a necessary condition.
Such are these utterances on the positive side, the side of
decision. The great principle of commission in general, and
the primaeval date of the three-fold ministry in particular, and
its sacred dignity and value, and the firm adherence of the
Reformed Church to this order, could not be more explicitly
stated. On the other hand the utterances are marked by that
restraint and tolerance which is characteristic of the church of
the prayer-book. In the Twenty-third Article no word is
used which is not as a fact equally fit to express the convic¬
tions of, for example, the Presbyterian. In the preface and
in the cognate statement of the Thirty-sixth Article, nothing
is said to the effect that the very existence of the Christian
church is suspended on the tliree-fold order, so that this order
can alone guarantee the working of the covenant of grace.
And we have ample evidence that the framers of the Articles
and of the Preface meant so to restrain their statement. Posi¬
tively they believed wholly in the primaeval and Catholic
authenticity of the triple system. But they had learnt great
things from Scripture and from the vast contemporary history
around them. And they forebore to exaggerate a reverential
adherence to the ideal into a condemnation of every other type
under any other conditions.
The same balance of decision and restraint appears in the
Ordinal itself. No other Ordinal known to me equals that in
which our priests are set apart, for its sublime assertion of the
spiritual and moral greatness of the commissioned Christian
ministry. It is not only a phrase here and there which pro¬
duces this effect. It is the whole sacred thing. In detail it
is above all that long and sternly tender address which the
Bishop is ordered to deliver to the men before him just previous
to the questions. Then the act of ordination itself is accom¬
panied by words of the utmost gravity and power, in which
the faithful dispensation of the Word and the sacraments is
enjoined in the very phrases used by the risen Lord to His
whole church represented in the upper chamber on the even¬
ing of the resurrection day. The commission to forgive and
to retain, given in precisely this place in an ordination service
for presbyters, has of course its history, and one point in that
history is that the great formula was unknown there till the
13th century. But into this it is impossible now to enter. It
must be enough to express my own belief that the reformers,
in retaining it, intended it to be construed mentally with the
following words : “ Be thou a faithful dispenser of the Word of
1910] Anglican Church Orders and the Problem of Unity 285
God and of His holy sacraments.” It was to be thus, by
faithful dispensation of Word and sacraments, that the com¬
mission was to be fulfilled as Jewel (an almost “voice of
the church ” ) explains the matter. But my point is now that
on any theory the ordaining words are of extreme solemnity.
They invest the Christian presbyter with the responsibility for
true Scriptural teaching and for true ministration, which is as
great and searching as human nature can sustain. And they
guarantee to him, along with the laying on of the hands of the
presbytery, the power of the Spirit Himself, to be received
and wielded in his w r ork.
I do not remark in detail on the two other services of the
Ordinal. The holy solemnity of the ordination of the presby¬
ter stands pre-eminent. But the ordination of the deacon, and
the consecration of the Bishop, though even this latter hardly
reaches the spiritual elevation of its precursor, are altogether
in harmony with it. From the first supremely solemn question
put to the candidate for the diaconate to the last prayer over
the new-made Bishop, the whole Ordinal keeps the "thought
of the ministry upon a level lofty and apart. It lays an em¬
phasis throughout upon the ministerial offices as so great, so
responsible, so needful to the church, that divine call, and
human call, and church commission, conveyed with deliberate
solemnity, are all needed to form an adequate avetiue to it.
Then on the other hand the restraint of the Ordinal, the
thing which it does not say, is as noteworthy as its positive
elements. All along, in all the three services, it regards the
Christian ministry as essentially a pastorate, not a mediation.
Compare it with the Roman Pontifical, and the difference is
indeed conspicuous. There the deacon is commissioned, inter
alia , to “read the Gospel for the living and the dead" The
Roman priest receives a double commission: first presbvteral,
with imposition of hands by Bishop and priests ; then sacerdotal
by delivery of the holy vessels with the elements, followed
shortly by imposition of the Bishop’s hands, with authority to
forgive and to retain. Place this besid- our order, with the
noble simplicity of its one combined imposition of hands and
the delivery of the Bible, and the contrast is significant.
I venture to say that if in order to ministerial grace a sacerdotal
commission, in a sacrificial and mediatorial sense of the words,
as distinct from a commission for pastorate and leadership is
necessary, the Pope was right in denying a valid ministry in
our ministers. This, I think, is unaffected by the fact that we
retain the formula concerning forgiving and retaining. For
though this stands connected by the tradition of ages with a
proper sacerdotium , it proves, I think, on reflection to have no
essential connection with it. It is the function rather of the
accredited messenger than of the altar priest.
286
The Chinese Recorder
[April
The stress of our Ordinal, to sum up these comments, lies
supremely upon the spiritual pastorate of the flock, that reli¬
gious office which, as it has been well said, was the personal
creation of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. It commits to the
man supremely the ministration of the divine Word, and
along with it the guardianship of the ordinances of Christ. It
bids him animate and enforce his ministry and leadership by
his life, hid with Christ in God. It sends him out to do all in
the spirit of a servant, not a master, reverencing the people of
the Lord. And it sends to him, for all his needs, the special
grace of the Holy Ghost.
Is it too much to say that such a programme of the Chris¬
tian ministry is true throughout to a Scriptural basis ?
In the New Testament, on the threshold of this question,
we meet at once the great phenomenon, not of a hieratic media¬
tion (the word hiereus is never once used of the Christian
priest) but of a pastorate as an integral factor in the life of
the church.
The Lord nowhere defines with precision the work of His
apostles. But beyond question He means them to he not only
witnesses but guides, leaders, and, in a sense limited yet real,
governors of order. They in their turn, early in the history
of their work, pass over some of their functions, namely, the
ministry of temporal relief, to other men, doing this not any¬
how, but by an ordaining act, praying and laying on their
hands. Then somehow (we shall never know precisely how)
a ministry of eldership took shape later in the Mission churches
and at Jerusalem itself, a ministry which also, so far as we
can divine, needed an ordaining act, prayer and imposition of
hands to begin it. Later, nearer to the end of the first age,
we find, side by side in the Missions, the deacon and the
presbyter busy evidently with each his department of pastoral
work ; the elders particularly with the Word and doctrine.
Then again in the same period we find arising, as if under
the suggestion of circumstances, but assuredly not without
divine light upon them, a pastorate of pastors, a pre¬
sidency among equals for great purposes of order and
coherence. It is not yet called an episcopacy. That word
still includes all spiritual “overseers,” all superintendents,
whether of one Mission or of several ; it awaited the call of
later needs to appropriate itself to the presiding ministry. But
in idea and principle the actual functions of Timothy and
Titus were episcopal, such as the English reformation under¬
stood episcopacy, such as Ussher understood it, with the one
reserve that the office may possibly have been only temporary
in its bearer. It was, however, while it lasted, a commissioned
leadership of pastors, and through them and with them of
people, and it was an organ of transmission of ministry. It
1910] Anglican Church Orders and the Problem of Unity 287
was the provision of just that element which is essential for
strong coherence and for the best guardianship of order—the
presence of one man, personally responsible for the duties of
guidance, warning, encouragement and the cultivation of
union. And this is an element desiderated by many thoughtful
non-episcopalians. The absolute governmental equality of
presbyters within an area is an idea with something noble in
it. But experience not seldom finds it poorly operative, where
an acknowledged and permanent presidency would do truer
and deeper work. This was provided for in Crete and in
Ephesus. And Crete and Ephesus prepare us for the pheno¬
mena of the Ignatian time and for the long successions even
until now.
Thus, in rapid but I hope not careless outline, I have
traced the Biblical basis for the words of our preface : “ From
the apostles’ time there have been these orders of ministers in
Christ’s church.” The Biblical picture calls for vastly more
remark, even on its salient features, than is possible here. It
indicates, among other things, a singular freedom on some
sides in the relations between pastor and people, a certain
homeliness in them, such as allows an apostle to address his
inspired letter to ‘‘the Saints in Philippi, with the overseers
and deacons,” and again allows a salutation to “the leaders”
to be sent through the congregation —proof enough, if it were
needed, that the apostolic Scriptures were intended for the
most direct possible reception by the laity, not for a reserved
conveyance to them through the ministry. We have no in¬
formation again whether the upper ranks of the ministry were
at first supplied only from the lower. We have many indica¬
tions again that public work for God was ofteu done as in
the singular and impressive case of Apollos without the
normal commission. And the whole phenomenon of the
Christian prophet warns us to-day not to turn sacred order into
the chain rather than the stay and girdle of the church. But
these points lie out of the main line of our present inquiry.
They leave undisturbed what is, in my own conviction, the
main result of it, namely, that the Christian ministry, as con¬
ceived and exercised according to our Anglican order, is true
in all its essentials to the New Testament basis. In the New
Testament, as with us, the normal ministry is a divine institu¬
tion, not originated by the community, but commissioned and
gifted from above, with a commission of wdiich the existing
ministry is the effecting agency and which thus secures a
permanent succession. In the New 7 Testament, as with us,
three main functions emerge out of the primaeval apostolate ;
none of them singly its successor, but each bearing something
of its office, while the apostolate had also functions never
transmitted to any successors. In the New Testament, as with
288
The Chinese Recorder
[April
the Church of England, judged by her authentic utterances—
this I must say with as full a conviction as ever—the Christian
ministry is not the successor of the temple priesthood. It is
not a sacrificing and mediating sacerdotium . It labours rather
for an unseen Head who, having sacrificed Himself for us,
now sits upon the throne of grace, dispensing His high
priestly blessing, exalted rather upon a heavenly ark than
standing at a heavenly altar. In the New Testament, as with
us, the Christian is contemplated as needing indeed pastoral
aid in spiritual ex gencies to clear his faith and reassure his
soul, but not as n eding any mediator with his One Mediator.
He is not more dependent on human intermediaries than the
Jewish believer was before him as the mediaeval theory of con¬
fession, totally without primitive warrant, would make him to
be : he has access direct to his God through the blood of Christ
and in the grace of the Spirit. Yet none the less, because
Christians are a holy community, and also because in the
divine order man is God’s great instrument for the spiritual
service of man, the church in the New Testament, as with us,
needs and has a sacred pastorate. The community is tended,
guided, served by a ministry commissioned from above, con¬
stitutionally and ternporately authoritative, successional within
itself, a mighty factor for permanence and cohesion, capable,
if true to itself and its gifts, of incalculable potencies for
example and inspiration. It is not the creature of the church,
but the Lord’s gift to the church. It is not the depository of
His grace, but it is the commissioned bearer of His message
and of its effectual seals. It is the attendant, not the mistress
of the holy society. It exists altogether for the chief shepherd
and His flock. It lives and it is continued in order to preach
and to set forth Christ Jesus as Lord and itself as bondservant
of all for Jesus’ sake .—The Record.
The Nestor of Protestant Missions in China
BY DR. A. H. SMITH.
I T would be interesting to know how many foreigners have
ever completed in the Celestial Empire a “Cycle of
Cathay.” Perhaps in our time there is but one—Dr.
William A. P. Martin—who is just rounding out his eighty-
third year, and who for aught that appears is now the oldest
foreigner who has continuously lived in China.
It has been offered as a recipe for a successful life that one
should first get himself born of good parents and grand-parents.
289
1910] The Nestor of Protestant Missions in China
This Dr. Martin had the good judgment to attend to, and he
has reaped his due reward. His early school preparation
was what would now lie thought patch-work and casual, yet by
using it to its limit he got more out of it than most young
men from the far better advantages of to-day. His call to
China from God, and not from man, is a romance in itself.
His accomplished wife was a wonderful helper in the singular
career to which her husband was little by little called. Dr.
Martin’s street-chapel in Ningpo enjoyed the distinction of
having by a course of natural (and supernatural) evolution
developed the “ Evidences of Christianity,” a book which 1 ms
had a unique history and influence. (Before the late Centen¬
nial Conference the chairman of the Christian Literature
Committee reported that this volume had more votes as the
“ best single book ” than any other, a remarkable phenomenon
in itself.) It has been reproduced countless times, and its
influence lias been strongly felt in Japan and in Korea. As
interpreter to Mr. Reed, the U. S. Minister who negotiated the
important treaty of 1853, Dr. Martin rendered a valuable
service, both to his own and to his adopted country. He
was the organizer and the president of the International Law
and Language School in Peking, known as the Thing Wen
Kuan, the first little rill from which the refreshing waters
of Western learning trickled into the minds of the coming
statesmen of China. This service extended for thirty years,
and was followed by the presidency of the New Imperial
University of China, of which much was expected. But its
apparent promise was blighted by the terrible Boxer- cataclysm
of 1900, which left everything in ruins. Most men of his
experience would have shaken off Chinese dust (and mud)
from their shoes after being besieged in Peking, as if he bore
110 relation whatever to the government of China, but after a
brief visit to America Dr. Martin returned under the auspices
of the late Chang Chih-tung to be at the head of the Wu
Clriang University for a period of three years until 1905.
Again instead of retiring at the mature age of 78, Dr. Martin
rejoined his Mission in Peking as a self-supporting professor
of tliings-iii-geiieral, in which highly varied capacity his bow
has ever since abode in strength. His favorite resort, both in
summer and in winter, is a temple of the Ch‘ien Lung period
at the Western Hills, “Pearl Grotto,” where much of his
work has been and still is done. On the day when he became
290
The Chinese Recorder
[April
eighty. Dr. Martin went out thither on a donkey (a two hours’
ride or more), climbed the thousand feet to the top, descended,
rode home, and in the evening went to another mission
compound, more than a mile distant, to make a social call!
Dr. Martin has been repeatedly decorated by the Chinese
government with mandarin rank which, except for its occa¬
sional opportunities of usefulness, he does not greatly value.
His works in Chinese have been of great importance to China
and have had a large circulation. It is less than a year since
a small booklet on comparative religion went to press.
The enterprising secretary of the Christian Literature Society
had hoped that they might publish the book, and wrote to Dr.
Martin bespeaking “your next book.” This modest request
struck his fancy, and that same “next book,” consisting of
reminiscences of his early years in China, is already well near
completion, and will soon be published in Chinese. It is need¬
less to say that Dr. Martin is the only man who could prepare
such a sketch from first-hand knowledge. Dr. Martin’s works
in English are well known and are standards. It is most unfor¬
tunate that all his copious memoranda perished in the disastrous
siege in Peking. But despite that, at this distance of time,
Dr. Martin (who has a memory still unimpaired, which is a
combination of sheets of fly-paper and a phonograph) is now
repairing this defect, and will in due time tell the world a
good deal which it does not know, but which it ought to
know. Dr. Martin’s interest in this mundane sphere, like
Sam Weller’s knowledge of London, is “at once extensive
and peculiar.” Nothing escapes him, and nothing human is
for him devoid of interest. He lias seen and known almost
all the missionaries of a large part of China for six decades,
and he has met practically all the important and influential
Chinese and Manchus of China.
At some perhaps distant day the Chinese will begin
to get an idea of what it means to have a scholar of the West
give the whole of a long and fruitful life to China for no other
reward than the service of man and the glory of God. When
the American traveller, Bayard Taylor, had an interview with
Alexander Von Humboldt, then advanced in years, the great
German savant remarked sadly : “ You see before you a ruin ! ”
“No,” said Taylor, “not a ruin, but a pyramid!” Dr.
William A. P. Martin is “a pyramid” with the widest base
and the highest peak that was ever seen in the ranks of at least
1910]
Correspondence
291
American missionaries in China. It does not seem impossible
and perhaps not even improbable that he may live to complete
three score years and ten in the land of his adoption.
“ He shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water,
That bringeth forth his fruit in his season,
Whose leaf also doth not wither ;
And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
Correspondence.
THU WORTH’S S. S. ASSOCIATION.
We have been asked to pub¬
lish the following letter— Ed.
To Pastors , Missionaries, Evan¬
gelists and Sunday School Su¬
perintendents in China.
Dear Brethren: The World's
Sunday School Association,
through the chairman of its
Executive Committee, sends you
Christian greetings.
The World’s next Sunday
School Convention, to meet in
Washington, D. C., U. S. A.,
May 19-24, 1910, gives promise
of being the most important
Sunday School missionary
gathering ever assembled. The
indications are that everv im¬
portant country aud missionary
centre will be represented and
that the attendance of delegates
and visitors will number many
thousands.
While you (the China Sun¬
day School Committee) will be
officially represented by Rev.
Frederick Brown, many Chi¬
nese and missionaries have also
signified their expectation to
attend the Convention, where
they will all receive a hearty and
cordial welcome, and we hope
that as a result of the stimulat¬
ing influence of the Convention
a brighter day may dawn for
Sunday .School work in China
as in other parts of the world.
Sunday, May 22nd, has been
designated World’s Sunday
School Day. The Executive
Committee has, with much care,
prepared a responsive Order of
Service to be used as an open¬
ing exercise in Sunday Schools
throughout the world upon that
day. The indications are that
this Order of Service will be
translated and printed in more
than 200 languages and dialects,
and we greatly desire that every
Sunday School in China may
form a link in the golden chain
of service which will encircle
the globe. It will be a great
inspiration to those who attend
the Convention to know that
our brethren in China will unite
their prayers with ours for the
blessing of Almighty God upon
Sunday School work throughout
the world.
In addition to the Service for
Sunday Schools we are asking
pastors, evangelists and mission¬
aries throughout the world to
preach a sermon emphasizing
the claims of the Sunday School
as a factor in the development
of Christian character, urging
upon parents and guardians the
importance of training the chil¬
dren aud youth in the knowl¬
edge of the Scriptures and
including in their prayers a peti¬
tion for the blessing of Almighty
God upon the work of the
292
The Chinese Recorder
[April
Sunday School in all lands, and
especially upon the World’s
Sunday School Convention,which
at that time will be in session
in the city of Washington. All
may not attend the Convention,
but each one may exercise a
helpful influence in making
Sunday, May 22nd, 1910, the
greatest day the Sunday School
has ever known.
As your hearts turn toward us,
you may be sure that ours are
turning toward you, especially
as we hear from the lips of your
representatives of your trials as
well as your successes in the
effort to win the world to Christ.
Wo-ri.o’s S. School association.
Gro. W. Bailrv,
Chairman of the Ex. Committee.
A REVIEWER REVIEWED.
To the Editor of
“The Chinese Recorder.”
Dear Sir : I11 his review in
the December Recorder of
Price and Chen’s Scripture
Catechism “ J. V.” makes the
following criticism. Page 6 “ tfe
a m - is «tttiisgB
31 i U * rather implies that
Adam, when he was created,,
was placed on a stool or stage,
from which, when he sinned,
he fell down ” !
The reviewer may not have
been aware of the fact that in
selecting that particular sent¬
ence for adverse criticism he
was aiming not at the compilers
of the Scripture Catechism but
at Dr. Calvin W. Mateer, whose
sentence it is ! Question No.
15 of the Shorter Catechism
reads, “ What is the sin where¬
by our first parents fell from
the estate wherein they were
created?” And the sentence
under discussion is Dr. Mateer’s
translation of that question.
Not only were the compilers
in using that sentence quoting a
master of the language, but they
were also using good Chinese
colloquial, which “J. V.”
ridicules, but in nowise proves
to be incorrect.
The word Ml it has a wide
meaning and signifies space,
situation, position, etc., and is,
I submit, a proper translation
of estate in the sentence above.
Will “J. V.” show 11s a
single instance in which Mj {£
means “-stool” or “stage” ?
R. V.
SALARIES OF CHINESE
HELPERS, ETC.
To the Editor of
“The Chinese Recorder.”
Dear Sir : I would like to ask,
through the columns of the
Chinese Recorder, for an ex-
planation of the principle upon
which the low scale of salaries
of Chinese helpers and pastors
is based. During the past
Chinese New Year season I
have visited several mission
stations in Chihli, Shantung
and Honan and have heard,
numerous stories, all of them
similar in their essential details,
about the loss of trained helpers
from active work. It is quite
evident that the trouble is at
the centre financial, and I have
been given to understand that
the disparity between salaries
offered by the missions and
those paid by other employers
is represented by ratios of about
one to ten, or one to fifteen. It
may be that there are fundamen¬
tal rules of procedure which are
mutually contradictory, and my
reasoning may be at fault. I
would like exceedingly to have
it either criticised or verified by
members of the mission body.
293
Correspondence
1910 ]
If there is one principle which
is being recognized in the home¬
land as being productive of
efficiency, it is that a man
should receive as salary what
he is actually worth. Mission
Boards pay, it can be safely
assumed, on an average a half
to two-thirds as much as mis¬
sionaries could otherwise earn,
enough, whatever the figures
may be, to provide good food,
clothes and education for all of
the family. It appears to me,
as an interested layman, that
the principle mentioned is not
only being violated, but an
added serious mistake is being
made. According to Chinese
custom a man’s salary is not
the whole of his income. If
Chinese custom is followed in
the payment of small salaries,
and foreign custom is enforced
regarding the taking of commis¬
sions and small bribes, it is not
surprising that trained young
men with a normal sense of pride
and honor are glad to escape to a
realm of activities where salaries
are ten to fifteen times as large.
I have heard missionaries cri¬
ticise the government severely
because they do not give higher
salaries to their public servants
of the new regime. I have also
heard missionaries say that all
over the empire young Chinese,
trained in mission schools, can
be found in Customs offices,
government schools and places
of business; that the young
men are soured on missions and
missionaries because of the con¬
ditions under which they left
the former. It appears to me
that some bold strokes are
needed at once to save these
most able products of the pro¬
paganda for the work which
they alone can do.
I have a great admiration for
the members of the missionary
body and for what they are
bringing to pass. My concep¬
tions have been gathered within
the circle of workers in five
different organizations, none of
whom have given me any satis¬
factory explanation for the above
condition of affairs; some, on
the contrary, gave expression
to what sounded like pent up
feelings of reluctant criticism.
I would appreciate very greatly
a discussion of the principles
involved.
Believe me to be,
. Very sincerely yours,
Mortimer Jay Brown.
BAPTISTS AND FEDERATION.
To the Editor of
“The Chinese Recorder.”
Dear Sir : In your issue of
February you have an article on
this subject by the Rev. James
V. Latimer of Huchow, in
which the Baptist position is de¬
clared without any equivocation.
With much that my brother
Baptist says I atn in hearty
agreement, but I wish to point
out that there are Baptists who
take an entirely different atti¬
tude to that which he lays down
as final on the part of Baptists.
On the Tentative Committee
of the Shansi Federation Scheme
it was closely discussed whether
the Baptist churches would, or
would not, admit to the full
privileges of church fellowship
members of other churches with¬
out insisting on the administra¬
tion of baptism according to the
practice of the Baptist churches.
This was referred to the various
missions, and by a unanimous
vote the English Baptist Mission
agreed to do so. We do not
abate one jot or one tittle of
our Baptist convictions, but if
294
The Chinese Recorder
[April
by a severe logic we hold to our
conviction that immersion of
the willing subject is the only
scriptural mode of baptism, we
also hold, by an equally impera¬
tive logic, that he who confesses
that Jesus is the Christ, and
whose life makes it evident that
he holds the truth in sincerity,
is most certainly a Christian man,
and we cannot venture to shut
out such a Christian brother
from the privileges of Christian
fellowship. Suppose, for in¬
stance, that a Christian who is
a Methodist, or a Presbyterian,
or an Episcopalian, comes to re¬
side in this city. The only
church here is a Baptist church.
He seeks fellowship with us ; by
his life, and by his zeal, and by
the gifts of the Spirit, he can
strengthen the cause of our Lord
in this city, and we can help
and encourge him in pilgrimage
heavenward. Are we, because
he has been trained to different
views on Christian baptism, to
put a stigma on him in the sight
of the heathen and treat him as
one outside the Christian fold ?
God forbid. Loyalty to our
own view does not mean that
we should break the covenant of
love in which our Lord has
made us one.
Neither, I think, would we
wish any church, or mission, to
alter their practice with regard
to Christian baptism unless they
were convinced that their prac¬
tice was erroneous. Such an
accommodation to our view of the
case would only be a courtesy
that meant nothing, and we do
not wish courtesies to take the
place of truth. If our brethreu
come to see as we do, we shall
heartily rejoice, but till then it
is only an offence to ask them
to conform to our practice.
Christian union must rest on
a higher basis if it is to be worth
anything. We do not create the
unity of the Christian church;
it is our privilege and duty to
recognise it. That should be
the objective of all our schemes,
and to make that possible our
organization must be of the
lightest character. We can
meet, we do meet, in united
conferences, and thereby pro¬
claim our union and our unity,
but any organic control of the
separate missions by any united
conference is impossible, and any
attempt to do this will only post¬
pone the day of union.
With regard to Rome, the dif¬
ficulties are exceedingly grave.
Until Rome relinquishes her
most favored tenets, e.g. t Mariol-
atry and the Sacrifice of the
Mass, a large majority of Pro¬
testant Christians will not desire
any fellowship with her com¬
munion, and Rome understands
no fellowship but submission.
Union with Rome is therefore
not on the horizou, and it is
futile to suggest it. In this pro¬
vince the fear of sometime or
other becoming entangled with
Roman error is on the part of
some missionaries leading them
to oppose all schemes of federa¬
tion, and as chairman of the
Shansi Tentative Committee I
appreciate their difficulty, and
regret that there should be any
allusion to such a union, which
will never come until Rome
ceases to be Rome, and which
only acts as a deterrent to more
cautious brethren. I therefore
agree with Mr. Sparham, not
with Bishop Graves, and I earn¬
estly hope that what is prac¬
ticable, not what is impossible,
will be kept steadily in our view.
Yours fraternally,
Arthur Sowrrby,
English Baptist Mission.
Tai-yueu-fu, Shansi,
Correspondence
295
1910 ]
1 ‘ THE OPEN LETTER FROM THE
ANGLICAN COMMITTEE
ON UNITY.”
To the Editor of
“The Chinese Recorder.”
Dear Sir : I think that it is
but right that someone should
thank you for printing the
articles on Church Unity which
appeared in the February issue
of your magazine. I believe
that those articles, serious as is
the set-back that two out of the
three must give to this great
cause, will be of the utmost
value in clearing the air and
showing us how useless it is to
think that we have made any
substantial progress in the mat¬
ter. The statements of the
“Catholic” and Baptist posi¬
tions are so clearly put that
your readers must feel that
organic union is out of the
question and that even a work¬
ing compact is impossible till
we have all spent more time in
prayer and learned deeper lessons
from God’s Word.
I am not concerned just
now to deal with the question
of union as such. But I do
think that as straight truths
are being uttered, it is wise to
refer to the statement made by
Dr. Graves in his article that no
replies have been sent to a cir¬
cular on Christian unity which
was (I quote from memory as
my copy of the Recorder is
not with me) sent out to all
missionaries after the the 1907
Conference. I have asked half-a-
dozen workers of some standing
and none of them can remember
having received such a letter.
I have a copy which I begged
from a member of the Protestant
Episcopal Church as a favour.
Imperfect circulation, and not in¬
difference, may iu part account
for the absence of replies.
But is not the probable reason
why many missionaries who
did see the circular regarded it
as unnecessary to reply because
that circular lays down the
“Lambeth Quadrilateral” as a
good ground for reunion? That
famous Quadrilateral was issued
in 1888, and the reception ac¬
corded to it in Great Britain at
that time ought surely to have
warned the Anglican Bishops
in China not to repeat its clauses
in 1907 as a basis for reunion.
But as Dr. Graves, even in 1910,
seems to think that the fourth
of those famous suggestions will
still bear repetition, may I be
allowed to state the position of
the church, to which I rejoice
to belong, on this particular
question? If representatives of
other churches will do the same,
our “Catholic” brethren may
decide that union on these
particular lines is impossible
and consider whether they can¬
not make some more reasonable
suggestion.
Speaking then for the Wesley¬
an Methodist Church, I would
say that this Church is unable to
make any response to the cir¬
cular because it cannot see its
way to accept the unhistoric
theory of the “historic epis¬
copate.” When the “ Lambeth
Quadrilateral” was considered
at the Annual Conference of
this Church in 1889, the mem¬
bers of that assembly asked
politely, but pointedly, what
the phrase “the Historic Epis¬
copate” meant, and to this day
they have had no intelligible
answer. And I venture to say
that the Bishops who could
not give an answer then cannot
give one now. Since 1888
“English, Scottish and Gertnau
scholars have been pursuing
their thorough investigations
iuto Early Church History, and
296
The Chinese Recorder
in the light of their discoveries
the ‘historic episcopate’ has
assumed the form of a dissol¬
ving nebula. The overwhelming
force of present-day expert opi¬
nion is against the ‘Catholic’
theory that the church in its
earliest times was governed uni¬
versally by the ‘three orders.’ ”
But as the above words, though
the utterance of one worthy of
respect, are the utterance of a
non-conformist, I fear that they
may not be accepted by the
Anglican clergy in China as of
anv value. So may I refer to
a recent article in the Titerary
Supplement to the London
Times , based on Gwatkin’s
"Early Church History?” The
writer of that article abstains
from quoting German Protestants
and English non-conformists.
He confines himself to scholars
of the Church of England, and
evidently tries to spare the feel¬
ings of the High Anglicans as
much as possible. But as the
result of his review of the situa¬
tion he whispers the sad news
that the results of the work of
the principal historians of their
own community are unfavorable
to the "Catholic” theory. In
so doing the reviewer comes into
line with Professor Gwatkin
himself, whose volume (to
quote another review) " round¬
ly declares that the Tractarians,
by their partisanship and cre¬
dulity, have covered the study
of Church History with re¬
proach, and pours scorn on their
uncritical methods and unhistor¬
ical dogmas.” The Bishops
assembled at Lambeth recorded
their conviction that ‘‘unity
without truth has been destruct¬
ive” to the church. If so, why
is it in 1910 suggested that we
unite in a theory of church
government which history de¬
clares to be untrue ?
[April
Now, Mr. Editor, I do not
want to enlarge on this matter
and I do not want to stir up
controversy, but I feel that it is
really time that someone should
publicly explain that the pro¬
bable reason why the circular
issued by the Anglican Com¬
mittee on Union has not had
more answers is because most
of those who received it consider
that it was adequately and con¬
clusively answered tea years
ago in Great Britain and that
modern historical research has
been answering it ever since.
There is no need perhaps to
go further, but while I am writ¬
ing I would say that even in
the third of the proposals made
at Lambeth, one can see the
same desire on the part of the
Anglican Church to safeguard
its own position. “The two
sacraments ordained by Christ
Himself—Baptism and the Sup¬
per of the Lord.” If the clause
had stopped there, would it not
have sufficed ? Why should our
Anglican brethren add, ‘‘min¬
istered with unfailing use of
Christ’s words of institution and
of the elements ordained by
Him ” unless they wish to make
sure that in the reunited church
others shall come into line with
them and that they shall not be
required to make any conces¬
sions ? Is there to be no room
in the one Church of Christ for
the man who holds with all re¬
verence the theory that our
Lord used “bread ” and “ wine”
simply because they were the
commonest elements of a meal in
Judaea and for no other reason,
and that in other lands other
elements may well be used ?
In conclusion, will it not be
well, while we are waiting for
the revelation of that great
thought about church govern¬
ment which musi underlie all
1910]
297
Correspondence
our various systems and which,
when it is revealed, will reuuite
us, if we concentrate our ener¬
gies (to refer again to the Eam-
beth Conference decisions) on
preventing needless collisions
and unwise duplication of labor ?
In this practical matter we all,
Anglicans and others, have much
to learn.
I am, yours sincerely,
George A. Clayton.
ON BIBLICAL NAMES.
To the Editor of
“The Chinese Recorder.”
Dear Sir : In your December
issue Mr. Bond field wrote of de¬
fects in the transliteration of
scriptural proper names. This
matter should be easily rectified,
but there is a deeper one that,
it seems to me, deserves consi¬
deration.
Last July you published a
letter signed “G. W. S.,” ad¬
vocating more method in trans¬
literation and suggesting that
the meanings , rather than the
sounds, might be reproduced. I
was hoping that what “ G. W.
S.” said would evoke some
expression of opinion, but not a
word have I seen for or against
those “weird, uncanny, and
meaningless names ” of which he
wrote. The subject is one upon
which a good deal might be said,
but, with your permission, I shall
merely note briefly a few things
as they present themselves.
The prevailing system has
produced a host of combina¬
tions—many meaningless and
some ridiculous. Seeing that
the Hebrew custom of giving
significative names to persons and
places is exactly paralleled in
China, it seems very strange that
hitherto translators have been
content with mere transliteration.
It cannot be urged in reply
that because in English we have
merely taken over the sounds,
more or less exactly, of the ori¬
ginals, therefore the same me¬
thod is suitable in Chinese. The
cases are quite different. In
English, the meaning of the
proper names is of little conse¬
quence; in Chinese it is an im¬
portant element. Further, in
English we have an alphabet,
the letters of which have lost
their hieroglyphic meaning and
are now only marks of sound,
but in Chinese each character
that we use to represent phone¬
tically the Hebrew and Greek
syllables is also a hieroglyph
with a living meaning .
So when we read that Abram
® fS H (be., “The uncle or¬
chid”) had his name changed to
?ii (“ Uncle hauling
the net”) we wonder if it would
not be better, from the Chinese
point of view, to write jgi 3C
and*##.
It must be conceded that we
should try to stand at the Chi¬
nese view r point. Our mission
is not to occidentalize. In Eng¬
lish we write “ Maker-shalal-
hash-baz,” a name which is just
a jumble until we learn what it
means; just such a jumble
“ Yang-tsze-kiang ” was to us a
good while ago. But when we
transliterate the name into “
H W ^ ^ A” we have not
only an approximately phonetic
representation of the Hebrew
phrase ; we have also a string of
Chinese words that give no in¬
dication of the original meaning,
“ Haste to the spoil, quick to
the prey,” and may mean,
“ Where the black sand is
pungent one horse drinks like
eight! ” In like fashion for the
fine word “ Ebenezer” we write
“ HI iU it ” (Cantoneseprov¬
ince Yi-pin-yi-ch'it), which
298
The Chinese Recorder
[April
means, “Tosetupwhat is handy/’
Here, certainly, there may be a
faraway reference to the ‘ 4 Stone
of help” which Samuel set up,
but the reference is only acci¬
dental. From the Chinese point
of view the meaning is nearly
everything, the sound is almost
nothing.
Neither can it be urged that
the forms of Biblical names are
now practically fixed. Perhaps
half a million Chinese are at
present acquainted with the com¬
monest Biblical names. What
are these to the great multitude
who will be reading the Bible
before long ?
It seems to me, then, that
translation is preferable to trans¬
literation in the great majority
of cases. The difficulty of chang¬
ing from one to the other is
great, and the obscure meaning
of many of the original names
makes it greater. The question
is whether it is worth while. I
believe it is worth while, and I
also believe that when Chinese
experts in Hebrew undertake
the translation of the Bible they
will solve the problem.
However if our present tran¬
slators should say that it is im¬
possible or impracticable to carry
out the plan, there is one thing
that certainly can be done, and
that should be done at once. It
is this: In transliteration let
such Chinese words be used as
have approximately the same
sound in the principal dialects—
“ Mandarin,” Fukiene.se, and
Cantonese. Hitherto, for good
reasons no doubt, only 41 Man¬
darin ” has been considered,
but good reasons fifty years ago
may be bad to-day.
For example, Joseph jf/j jg;
is read at Peking (authority
Parker in Giles) Yo-se, in Ning-
po Yah-sah. in Fti-chau Yok-
saikj iu Canton Yeuk-shat.
Would not the original be more
nearly reproduced by 3^ ij$(c
P. and N. Yu-su-fu, F. Fu-su-
hu, and C. Yau-so-fu?
Again Andrew % ^ ^ is
read “ Ang-taik-liek ” at Fu-
chau and “ Gn-tak-lit ” at Can¬
ton. Surely something better
can be devised. Would not
JlS p!ij be nearer the Greek An¬
dreas ?
One more note. Would it not
materially help the Chinese read¬
er ill. ?ST. etc ->
were added, when possible, after
the names of places? If, in
Psalm lxxxix. 12, Tabor (broken
height) and Hermon (rugged,
abrupt) must be transliterated
^ (great morning) and J& ^
(black door), at least the word
[if could be added to each.
Yours very faithfully,
Ales:. Don.
Dunedin, New Zealand.
ON THE TRANSLATION OF
“THE AGES.”
To the Editor of
“The Chinese Recorder.”"
Dear Sir : May I correct a
few inaccuracies in the opening
clause of Mr. Hutton’s letter ?
After telling us that if we 3 ook
into. Dr. Young’s Concordance
“ anyone can see that 4 olam’ is
uniformly used for such words
as ‘ever’ and ‘everlasting’ ” he
continues: “Dr. Young, how¬
ever, gives us another word in
form and sound very like ‘ olam ’
with only the difference of a
letter. It is the word ‘alam,’
and means 4 hidden and hidden
times.’ Its use in the Bible
seems limited to the book of
Daniel. Dr. Young, iu his lexi¬
con, gives for 4 alam ’ 4 that
which is hidden,’ but for ‘ olam’
that which is everlasting, eternal,
and never that which is hidden.”
1910]
After noticing that Dr. Young
never once, as his translation for
'olam,' gives the words ‘ ever,’
'ever-lasting, 5 or‘eternal,’ but
always ' age ’ and ' age-lasting,’ I
proceed to remark that ‘ olarn ’
and ‘ alam ’ merely differ as
' eternel ’ in French differs from
'eternal' in English and are
entirely identical in sense. In the
book of Daniel, from Chap. 2-4
(from the words “ 0 king”) to
the end of Chap. 7, the language
is Chaldee or Aramaic, and
'alam’ is merely the Aramaic
form of ‘olam.’ Outside this
section of Daniel Mr. Hutton
will find ‘ olam.’ If Mr. Hutton
wants full proof that ‘alam’
means primarily ‘hidden time,’
secondarily ‘age,’ ‘age-lasting,’
or ‘ indefinite remote time,’
which may mean time which
is terminable, Ez. iv. 15. (Ezra
iv. 8, vi. 18 is also in Ara¬
maic), or may connote duration
without end, he need only turn
up his Young’s Concordance
where, under the word EVER¬
LASTING, Heading 3, he will
see ‘alam;’ ‘age,’ ‘age last¬
ing,’ is applied to the life of
an earthly king, Dan. ii. 4, iii.
9,- v. io, etc., as well as to
God’s life and His attribute of
stedfastness. Dan. iv. 34, vi. 26.
Before leaving this clause I
would remark that Geseuius is
usually reckoned, in the depart¬
ment of Hebrew philology, to be
a Master of masters. In that
sphere he shines as Beethoven
does in music, Lord Kelvin in
physics, or Gabriel Stokes in
mathematics. Yet Mr. Hutton
not only ventures to say in
the opening sentences of that
paragraph that “ it seems that
Gesenius is making a mistake,”
but he unaccountably puts me
down as responsible for Gese-
nius’s explanation of the word
‘ olam.'
299
I simply transcribed from
Geseuius’s Lexicon, and I
venture to say that if Mr.
Hutton looks up any Hebrew
lexicon, or consults any Hebrew
scholar, he will find that they
will, one and all, give one
verdict on this point. My
“teaching,” then, on this point
is, I trust, based on truth.
For liis criticism of mv re¬
marks on Ps. xc. 2, I must
simply ask Mr. Hutton kindly
to read them again; he will
see then that they prove the
very thing that he imagines I
deny.
As to Micah v. 2, some thiuk
the words “ from everlasting ”
should be translated “ from
days of old.” See R. V. marg.,
Mic. vii. 14, 20, also Am. ix.
11; probably referring to the
Messiah as descending from
David. See Camb. Bible for
schools m loco.
Mr. Hutton thinks it is un-
criptural to affirm from I. Cor.
xv. 28 (the last “end” of
which Revelation treats) that
“the Father” will be “all in
all.” He says on p. 174 : “ Now
to be scriptural it is God (not
the Father) who is said to
become “all in all.” May not
this mean the Triune God ? ”
I reply: Does uot verse 24
plainly tell us to whom “God,”
in this passage, refers? “When
He shall deliver up the kingdom
to God, even the Father Cp.
John xiv. 28, xx. 17, I. Cor.
xi. 3.
Mr. Hutton then continues:
“ It seems that to Mr. Smith
this phrase ‘the ages of ages’
cau have no infinite meaning.”
I give him no ground for saying
this. I simply say that this
and cognate expressions may be
used of what is terminable;
plainly implying that they often
connote (even if they do uot in
Correspondence
300
The Chinese Recorder
[April
themselves strictly mean) dura¬
tion which is limitless.
Of what use is it to quote Dr.
Angus, whose incautious state¬
ments many of us know, when
the Greek fathers flatly deny
what he affirms? If Mr. Hutton
holds that such phrases as
“ unto the age,” “ this age and
the age which is to come ” and
“ unto the ages” iu themselves
mean inanity, what will he
make of such phrases as those
which occur in the LXX.: “ To
the age and the yonder side
(of the age),” Mic. iv. 5; “to
the ages and beyond,” Dan. xii.
3; and “to the age and the
age (to come) and beyond”
of Ex. xv. 18 ? This last, of
course, having a most important
bearing on the punishment for
the sin against the Holy Spirit.
Those phrases from the LXX.
seem to show that infinity can¬
not be expressed by ages ; there
Is always duration “ beyond.”
The above LXX. phrases are
translations of the Hebr. “ le-
oiatn va-ed,” “to eternity and
beyond,” a phrase only once
used of evil, viz., in Ps. ix.
5, where it simply means extinc¬
tion of posterity and not endless
conscious suffering at all. Even
the expression “all the ages,”
used only in Ps. cxlv. 13
(Gk.) and Jude 25 is uever
used of evil, but only of good.
I am sorry to see that, not¬
withstanding the plaiu remarks
in my article as to “in the name
of Jesus” being the only true
translation of kv tgj dvofiari irjaov
in Phil. ii. 10, Mr. Hutton gives
“by virtue of the uame of
Jesus.” What a strange pre¬
judice seems to exist against
this Scripture ! The English
A. V, gives “at the nan^e;”
the Chinese Peking Version
“ hearing the name ; ” the latest
Union Version (unless they have
recently altered the language)
has “because of the name,”
so difficult does it seem to
simply take that Scripture as it
stands!
Mr. Hutton will find in the
final edition of the Uuiou Version
that the phrase ^ 1§| has
been excluded in all passages
concerniug the ages. The
senior member of the Revision
Committee has written to me as
follows: “So far your letters
have led to two or three changes,
one of which is to put jfj; JlJ
ia P lace of M $3
This is not what you wish, but
it does away with a phrase
which is certainly not in the
Greek.” The phrase he refets to
is avev reAovy, “without end.”
For “the ages of ages” I had
pleaded for f)| Jit jit, with
the literal Greek lit M % Jit ^
jtt in Ihe margin ; but half
a loaf is better than no bread,
and I am deeply thankful to
God that He has led the com¬
mittee to make this decision.
The Mandat in Union Version,
as it will appear iu the April of
this year, will cease to affirm (as
all such versions known to me,
except Dr. John’s, have done
hitherto) by well-grounded in¬
ference that thousands of millions
of Chinese ancestors are doomed
to an endless hell. Surely a cause
for humble, heart-felt praise to
God !
Oh, for more worthy thoughts
of God and “the Gospel of
God!” (Gal. iii. 8, Rev. xiv. 6.)
Sincerely yours,
Stanley P. Smith.
TsBChowfu, Shansi.
On account of pressure on our space some correspondence
has had to be left over to next month.
1910]
Our Book Table
301
Our Book Table.
The object of these Reviews is to give real information about
books. Authors will help reviewers by sending with their books,
price, original if any, or any other facts of interest. The custom
of prefixing an English preface to Chinese books is excellent.
“New China. A Story of Modern
Travel.” By W. T. Fullerton and
C. E. Wilson, B.A. Morgan &
Scott, London 1910. 3/6.
The authors of this modest
and brightly illustrated volume
spent some four months in N.
China in the autumn of 1907
and winter following, and this
is a popular account of their
travels and impressions. For
the home reader it contains many
shrewd and humorous sketches
of life in the interior, with its
comfortless inns, and roads ' ‘ one
palpitating mass of gelatinous
mud.” But readers in China
will turn from these picturesque
but all-too-familiar details to the
later chapters which deal with
the present missionary outlook.
Of the two authors one was
himself for several years a mis¬
sionary in India, while his com¬
panion is a well-known evangelist
and successor to F. B. Meyer
at Melbourne Hall, Feicester.
Their special task was to
examine and report on the work
of the English Baptist Mission
in the three provinces of Shensi,
Shansi and Shantung, but na¬
turally they visited many other
missionary centres, and their
observations apply far beyond
the scope of their immediate
mission. Coming as they did,
well-equipped by a living sym¬
pathy and a large experience,
their report, though primarily
addressed to friends at home,
cannot fail to command the
attention of workers on the field.
It will surprise no one who
realises the vast unoccupied
spaces of the N. W. part of
China that the travellers went
home to plead for more workers,
and a vigorous attempt is now to
be made to link up the mission
stations in Shensi with those in
Shansi. They were also impress¬
ed—indeed how could it be
otherwise ?—with the present
unique opportuuity for aggres¬
sive work in every department—
evangelistic, medical, education¬
al. “We came,” they write,
“from the visitation of our
Shantung colleges more than
ever convinced that no work of
greater missionary value can be
maintained in China than this,
provided it is carried on—as we
rejoice to know our brethren are
carryingit on—with true spiritual
fervour and singleness of aim.”
Thechapter entitled “ A Modern
Prophet ” gives some account of
the senior B. M. S. missionary,
Timothy Richard, who recently
completed forty years’ service in
China. Here is a thumbnail
sketch of l,i Ti-mo-t‘ai : ‘‘He
is a great prophetic figure, with
thoughts greater than his speech,
often saying things liable to be
misunderstood because he takes
so much for granted and is so
little careful to guard his utter¬
ance from misconception ; child¬
like with childlike egoism, sim¬
ple-hearted, whole-souled, broad¬
minded. China is written upon
his heart.”
Many readers will turn first
to the general summing up of
impressions in Chap, xxiii.,
“The Report of the Spies.”
302
The Chinese Recorder
[April
Let me cull a sentence here and
there at random.
“It is impossible to do other
than assent to the unanimous
verdict that China has at length
come to the hour of destiny.”
“ Of the missionaries themselves
we speak with dispassionate
praise. There are men and
women in China who, if they had
remained at home, would have
been in the front places in their
professions, and there are in¬
conspicuous workers who equal
them in unwearied and fruitful
service. In the ranks of the
hundreds of missionaries whom
one met there were not half-a-
dozen of whom it could have
been honestly suggested that
they had made a mistake in going
toChina.” Again, “ Direct, posi¬
tive, aggressive, and wisely
directed evangelism is what
China needs.” “Let there be
no compromise in the message
in order to gaiu adherents.”
Again, “ There is no exclusive
claim to completeness that can
be maintained on behalf of any
missionary method . . . but in
every method it is the man that
counts more. And China must
have those of the best sort. It
is strange that it has not by this
time become the chief ambition
of every Christian youth ■with
brains and trained faculties to be
a China missionary. There is
no greater chance of fruitful life
anywhere.”
The authors close with what
seem to the present reviewer
wise words .regarding Christian
union: “ China is perhaps ahead
of other mission fields in
schemes of union. And the
best and most intelligent
Chinese Christians are ahead
of the missionaries in their
enthusiasm for one church for
the whole of China. If mission¬
aries are not to lose their leader¬
ship they must speedily agree
on their plan of action and
provide channels for the expres¬
sion of the national sentiment.
Two methods are being attempt¬
ed at present, and it is quite
possible that the one may
eventually clash with the other.
On the one hand there is a
federation of the Christian forces
province by province, and on the
other a drawing together of the
members of the various deno¬
minations all over China.
Already all the Presbyterians (and
more lately the Anglicans ?)
“ have been organised into one
body. The danger in this move¬
ment, otherwise admirable, is that
it may evoke the sectarian spirit
it seeks to avoid. The federation
of all the Christians in a province
w r ould seem to be the hopeful
way of reaching the ultimate
goal, for the members of
churches near together are
surely more to each other than
others who happen to bear the
same denominational name hun¬
dreds of miles away.” This
extract, and the appeal to the
Missionary Committees at home
to grant the men on the field
large liberty in this question,
will suffice to illustrate the
broad and catholic point of
view of the authors. The book
contains nothing new and makes
no big pretensions, but it will
cheer toilers on the field to see
themselves and their problems
through other eyes and should
stir fresh interest at home in
China and the Chinese.
E. W. B.
The 23rd and 24th Reports of the
Mission among the Higher Classes
in China.
The report of this important
work is issued in a comely
volume. It contains ample de¬
tails of the work of the Inter-
1910]
Our Book Table
303
national Institute in all its
branches. There is a valuable
record of the director’s visit to
Peking and his experiences
there. There are interesting
indications of the working of the
Chinese mind, which generally
reaches the same end in a
different way from that of the
Westerner. It is well that these
phases of thought and work
should find a permanent place
in these records. I11 the main
this is an account of the work
of the International Institute.
It tells of vigorous work at¬
tempted and considerable fruition
seen in completed buildings and
“finished students.” The scope
of the work is ample, and em¬
braces educational, social and
institutional work. This shows
a worthy attempt to reach the
end in view—the promotion of
harmony between east and west.
The necessity of this is sometimes
forgotten. The friction arising
from contact of different nation¬
alities, each with its commercial,
political and religious interest
to advance, escapes attention.
In this mission then there is a
great idea advocated and neces¬
sary work attempted, which in
the end will greatly facilitate
the success of even private
interests. Here it is attempted
to soften the asperities of con¬
flicting civilizations, and an
endeavour is made to advance
friendliness and harmony.
The encouragements are men¬
tioned as well as the discourage¬
ments. It is a great pity that
the institution should fail for
lack of support or be hampered
in its work. This is possibly
the only institution where for¬
eigners and Chinese cooperate.
This implies some latitude of
thought which may be distaste¬
ful to some. Yet in view of the
object to be attained the present
compromise is well justified, and
in the end will bear good fruit.
We heartily commend this report
to tiie attention of the thinking
pUbliC. vr
A History of Christianity in Japan.
By Otis Cary, D.D. For thirty
years missionary of the American
Board. Vol. I., pages 423, Roman
Catholic and Greek Orthodox Mis¬
sions. Vol. II., Protestant Missions.
Pages 359. F. H. Rtvell Co. 1909.
These two substantial volumes,
published in commemoration of
the fiftieth anniversary of the
beginning of Protestant missions
in Japan, are an important con¬
tribution to the history of mis¬
sions. At the late celebration
of the semi-centennial of modern
missions in Tokio it was in¬
teresting to remember that Dr.
J. C. Hepburn, who was one
of those most active in the
work in 1859 and for long after,
is still living at an advanced
age in New Jersey. This
illustrates forcibly how the vast
changes of all kinds in the
Empire of Japan have all fallen
well within the scope of one
extended lifetime. Dr. Cary
has performed his task in the
spirit of the historian and not
in that of the controversialist.
He appears to have made a
thorough examination of the
existing materials, and the
reader is enabled to get the
result of much toil and midnight
poiing over musty manuscripts
and tomes, particularly in the
case of the Roman Catholic and
the Greek missions.
While not a popular work,
in the sense of giving hasty
epitomes of a great range of
diverse topics, these volumes
will take their deserved position
as standard histories of one of
the most important and most
fruitful mission enterprises of
304
The Chinese Recorder
[April
the nineteenth and the twentieth
centuries.
They have made their appear¬
ance at ‘the psychologic moment’
when attention has been attracted
to the various celebrations in
Japan of fifty years of progress,
and will remain as a monument
of the author’s industry and
skill in the collection and the
marshaling of facts. These
books should find place in all well-
equipped mission and general
libraries the world around.
The New York price is $2.50
uet A. H. S.
John Innocent. A Story of Mission
Work in North China. By G. T.
Candlin. London: United Metb.
Publishing House. 1909, Pp, 306.
This is the life story of one
of the pioneers in the northern
part of the Chinese Empire.
Mr. Innocent belonged to one
of the smaller denominations
working this vast field, but
his experiences were varied and
embraced such stirring scenes
as those of the great T‘ai-p‘ing
rebellion, during which he
visited Soochow and nearly lost
his life ; the Nien-fei rebels and
marauders in the province of
Shantung, the Tientsin mas¬
sacre, and later the great Boxer
uprising—though before that
storm broke Mr. Innocent had
left China, as it turned out for
the last time.
While this volume is of special
interest to those familiar with
the denomination specially con-
cerued (the Methodist New Con¬
nexion, now the United Method¬
ist) no one can follow its tale
without gaining a vivid notion
of the kind and the scope of
the work involved in founding
a mission in China immediately
following the war with Great
Britain. Mr Caudlin has eluci¬
dated the narrative with illu¬
minating exposition. The care¬
ful reader might discover some
errors of statement iu a few
minor matters, but they do uot
in any way affect the narrative.
Those who remember Mr. Inno¬
cent will be glad of this reminder
of his faithfulness, his steadiuess,
and his broad charity. Those
who never knew him cannot fail
to be benefited by the portrai¬
ture of oue who labored so long
aud who accomplished so much.
His widow still survives at a
green and fruitful old age at
Brighton with one of her chil-
Children of China. By Rev. Colin
Campbell Brown, Oliphaut, Ander¬
son and Ferrier. Price is. 6d.
Not only to the “ boys and
girls” to whom Mr. Campbell
Brown writes his introductory
letter, aud whose alert gaze and
assured interest have evideutly
influenced his sub-consciousness
and guided his pen, but to the
many older readers, both at
home and in China, will this
attractive book be welcome.
From the simple statement of
Chinese cosmogony down to the
farewell peep at the little ones
going to bed in Christian homes
the interest never flags. No one
seems to be forgotten and no
phase neglected from the baby
Emperor to the little slave girl
and from children’s games to
children’s woes. Although such
subjects as religions, reverence
for parents, faithfulness, super¬
stitions, etc., are treated, the
style is so simple and happy
that big subjects are easily
understandable by little people.
The three-coloured illustra¬
tions deserve special praise. As
trichromatic printing gains in
naturalness we may expect mis¬
sionary books to blossom out in
oriental colouring. G. M.
1910]
Our Book Table
305
REVIEWS BY J. D.
flf&ISs* Health Primer, by Rev.
Hunter Corbet, D. L). The Chinese
Tract Society. 20 cents per copy.
This book is in Easy W£h-li.
It is divided into three sections
—Care of the Body, Nursing,
and Household Remedies. The
advice given in the first two
sections is good ; that in the
third we are content to take
on trust. Doubtless the recipes
are old and tried. There are a
few illustrations, and the letter-
press is easy to understand.
A Primer of English for foreign stu¬
dents, by Wilfrid G. Thofley.
Macmillan & Co. have done
well in introducing this excellent
primer to Chinese scholars. It
is the kind of book which would
be useful as a text-book for
teaching grown-up tjhiukitng
men. The teaching is by the
“direct” method. This is
clearly explained in the preface.
Teachers will do well to make
themselves acquainted with this
book.
Confucian Cosmogony. A translation
of section forty-nine of the “ com¬
plete works ” of the philosopher
Choo-foo-tze with explanatory notes
by the Rev. Thos. M’Clatchie, M.A.
Presbyterian Mission Press* Paper
covers, $1 ; cloth, $1.25.
This book, by one of the old
and almost forgotten mission¬
aries to South China, Was sup^-
posed to be long out of print.
Unexpectedly some twenty co¬
pies have been unearthed and
are on sale at the prices stated.
There are few missionaries who
Would not wish to know what
the great Confucian expositor
taUght concerning heaven, earth
and the gods. The information
is given in this book, and page
for page with the Chinese text
there is an English translation.
The author has also appended a
short life of ChU Fu-dz and ail
explanation of the diagrams of
the yin and the yang which one
sees so often on Chinese walls,
books, etc. We need not always
agree with the translation offer¬
ed to us of the statements in
the Chinese text, but it is always
suggestive. Those who purchase
one of the few copies still to be
had of this old book will in
days to come reckon themselves
fortunate.
acknowledgments.
Transactions of the Asiatic Society
of Japan. Kelly & Walsh. Yeii
3 ‘ 50 .
Journal of the Educational Associa¬
tion of Fukien Province.
United States Bureau of Education
Bulletin, 1909, No. 2. Admission
of Chiuese Students to American
Colleges. John Fryer, Professor of
Oriental Languages and Literature,
University of California.
Mongol Tract. Weiliaiwei Printing
Press.
A Missionary Home in North China.
John A. Stooke, Chefoo,
From Macmidean & Co.
First Books of Science, Physics. L.
Lownds 1/6.
An excellent text book for younger
pupils beginning the study of phy¬
sics.
Murcb^’s .Science Readers, Book IL,
w'ith Anglo-ChineSe Notes by Prof.
Gist Gee. Translated by Sting Pah-
poo. Both of Soochow University.
Kelly & Walsh. 60 cts.
This book is uhifottn with book I.,
which was reviewed in the January
Recorder, It should prove in¬
teresting as well as instructive to
Chinese students. The notes are
voluminous and useful.
The New Anglo-Chinese Readers.
The Primer 15 cts.
The Tale of Troy Retold in English.
Clear type and interesting and easy
style. There are Chinese note*
explaining difficult sentences.
306
The Chinese Recorder
[Apiii
Books in Preparation. (Quarterly Statement.)
(Correspondence invited.)
The following books are in course
of preparation. Friends engaged in
translation or compilation of books
are invited to notify Rev. D. Mac-
Gillivray, 143 N. Szechuen Road,
Shanghai, of the work they are
engaged on, so that this column
may be kept lip to date, and over¬
lapping prevented. N. B. Some whose
names have been on this list a long
time are asked to write and say if
they have given up the work, or
what progress, if any, they are mak¬
ing. Perhaps they are keeping others
from doing the work.
C. L. S. LIST.
Booker T. Washington’s “ Up from
Slavery.” By Mr. Kao Lun ching.
Wide Wide World. By Mrs. Mac-
Gill ivray.
Religious Contrasts in Social Life.
E. Morgan.
American Education. E. Morgan.
Romance of Medicine. McPhun. W.
A. Coruaby.
Pitch’s Lectures on Teaching. W.
A. Cornabj'.
Chronicles of the Schouberg-Cotta
Family.
Sterling’s Noble Deeds of Women.
D. MacGillivray.
Speer’s Principles of Jesus, by Joshua
Vale.
GENERAL.
Halley’s Comet. C.T. S. J. Darrocb,
Ballantine’s Inductive Studies in
Matthew.
Organ Instructor. By Mrs. R. M.
Mateer.
Murray’s Like Christ. By Mr. Chow,
Hangchow College.
Illustrations for Chinese Sermons,
by C. W. Kastler.
By the same. Chinese Preacher’s
Manual, and Daily Light for Chinese.
Systematic Theology. 12 parts.
Dr. DuBose.
Torrey’s What the Bible Teaches.
By J. Speicher,
“ Recent announcements ” column
Stepping Heavenward. By Mrs.
Crossette
Expository Com. on Numbers. By
G. A. Clayton.
Expos. Com. on Hebrews, by G. L.
Pullan.
Little Meg’s Children. By Mrs.
Crossette.
Sermons on Acts. Genahr.
Outlines of Universal History. H.
L, W. Bevan, Medhnrst College.
Tholuck’s Sermon on the Mount.
By J. Speicher.
“ Ilis Great Apostle,” and “ His
Friends.” By Rev. Chang Yang-ksiin.
Stalker’s Paul.
J. H. Jowett’s The Passion for Souls.
(In mandarin.) Fulness of Power.
Metaphors of St. Paul. Dean Howsou.
By J. Vale.
Mrs. Nevius’ Mandarin Hymn
Book.
The Roman Theology and the Word
of God, by Alphonso Argento.
Constructive Studies in Life of
Christ. H. W. Luce.
New Primer of Standard Romaniza-
tion on the Accumulative Method.
By Frank Garrett.
Training of the Twig. Drawbridge.
J. Hutson.
Prof. J. Percy Bruce is preparing
the following :—
Elementary Outlines of Logic.
Expository Lectures -on the His¬
torical Parts of the Pentateuch.
Expository Lectures on Old Testa¬
ment History (Solomon to Captivity).
Biblical Atlas and Gazetteer. R. T.
S., Loudon.
R. A. Haden is preparing Murray’s
Humility and Holy in Christ.
James Hutson : Meyer’s Burdens
and How to Bear Them.
James Hutson : Willison’s Mothers’
Catechism.
Mrs. R. M. Mateer: The Browns a£
Mount Hermon.
F. C. H. D rever; Bible Reading
Outlines for the Blackboard.
Lectures 011 Modern Missions, by
Leighton Stuart.
Laboratory Manual in Chemistry
(Mandarin), by J. McGregor Gibb.
will appear in next issue.
l9to]
Missionary News
307
Missionary News.
Good Work at Nan-tung-chow.
At the recent revival meetings
and special work at Nail-tun g-
chow, Kiangsu, where Rev. W.
Remfry Hunt led the meetings
with the missionaries and the
native evangelists, tliere was
much blessing. Some score or
more of the Chinese confessed
their faith in Christ.
Christian Endeavor Convention,
Peking, 1911.
The Peking Missionary Asso¬
ciation recently voted unani¬
mously to invite the next Na¬
tional Christian Endeavor Con¬
vention to Peking, to be held
some time in April or May, 1911,
instead of 1910, as previously
contemplated. The exact date has
not yet been decided upon. Every
effort will be made to arrange for
the best possible program. It is
hoped that this convention will be
a representative gathering and
that it will give a great impetus
to the work throughout the
Empire, aud especially in North
China.
Bishop Bashford’s Report on
Opium in West China.
After an extended tour aud
thorough enquiries from com¬
petent observers, the Bishop
says:—
“There are two things that I am
sure of. The first is that the Chinese
government is thoroughly in earnest
about compelling the nation to aban¬
don the use of opium, and the second
is that the government is succeeding
splendidly in its enlightened efforts.’’
The Rev. J. F. Peat, of the Method¬
ist Episcopal Mission Chungking,
who had travelled widely through the
province a short time before my airi-
val, had not seen a single field of
opium under cultivation. He had
been 20 years in Szechuen and was
familiar with the appearance of the
country in all seasons, and he told me
that over vast areas, which at that
time of the year were ordinarily
covered with poppies just bursting into
bloom, nothing was now to be seen
but sugar-cane, rice and other food
crops.
Five years before I myself bad
travelled extensively in Szechuen and
seen fields stretching out beyond fields,
all given up to the cultivation of opium.
I had asked my missionary friends
how much of the land was devoted to
this purpose. The answer 1 invariably
received was that from 30 to 35 per
cent was so applied. This year, how¬
ever, I spent a longer period travel¬
ling in Szechuen and went over rather
more ground than I did five years
ago, and I did not see one field of
opium on the whole trip, and not a
single one of the 30 or more people
whom I questioned on the subject
had seen such a field this past winter.
Much opium in Szechuen in January,
the month to which my enquiries re¬
lated, used to be in bloom and quite
easy of recognition.
The Ichowfu Revival.
The Ichowfu revival is still
continuing to move forward.
When Pastor Ting Li-mei left
after a little over two weeks here
for Manchuria 1,400 names had
been enrolled of those saying
that they were willing to study
the Gospel, and since then an¬
other 300 or 400 names have
been added. All classes of
people are included — coolie,
shopmen, literati and official.
Rev. W111. P. Chalfaut, of the
Theological School at Tsing-
chowfu, and Chinese Pastor Li
Tao-hwei have come to help us
during the Chinese holiday
season.
308
The Chinese Recorder
Revival in Manchuria.
Rev. George Douglas sends
us the following from Liao-yang :
Several friends have- asked
me for an account of a series of
meetings held in this city by
Pastor Ding Id-mei.
Det me say at once that he
has gone, leaving a fine stimulus
behind. He turns everything
into an occasion for prayer.
This is his real source of power ;
he is Spirit-filled, for lie is not
a man of outstanding eloquence,
though he has a fund of apt
illustrations.
We began onr day at 7 a.111.
with prayer meetings in six
different centres throughout the
city. To these be bid our
Christians come with slips in
their hands showing what mem¬
bers of their families and other
friends were not yet Christian
and for whom they invited
prayer. Jang-sail mu-rin was
then invited by the leader to
state his case in public and give
reasons. Thus the nets were
cast early in the day. Pastor
Ding himself did not attend
these meetings, which was wise.
At 11 and 4 o’clock, twice
daily, our church was crowded
when Pastor Ding preached ;
his appeal being mainly to the
outsider, but very skilfully turn¬
ed upon the church member too.
At his request I early sent a
band of thirty workers round
the city with my card (duly
protected from abuse) and a
printed invitation, which seems
to have been well received. We
called the meetings a Yen-shuo-
hui , but the crowd came to
a distinctively divine service
with a full range of hymns
and prayers and reading of the
word. The preaching centred,
wdiere it ought, at the cross.
One of the best addresses was on
{April
“The love of Christ constrain¬
ing,” and our Matichu chief
magistrate sat by my side one
morning right through amoving
appeal on “ My peace I leave
with you.”
Sixty-four new enquirers were
enrolled openly before the con¬
gregation. This is a feature
which Pastor Ding strongly in¬
sists upon without committing
the candidates too much, and
we are going to continue it.
There were none of the terrible
scenes which characterized the
great revival two years ago, but
many came forward asking for
prayer, confessing vows unful¬
filled and carelessness as to the
welfare of their neighbours.
Then the same waves of general
petitions swept over the con¬
gregation without the agony.
Conference of German Missions.
Rev. I. Genabr, Hongkong,
sends an interesting letter on a
conference of the three Ger¬
man Missions iu the South. He
says:—
A Delegates’ Conference of
the Basel, Berlin, and Rhenish
Missions, was held in Tungkun
on Monday, February 28th, in
which altogether 13 members of
the three Missions took part. It
was the second of this kind ; the
first bad takeu place two years
ago in Hongkong, when it was
arranged to have such a con¬
ference every two years iu turus
at one of the stations of the
three societies respectively.
The object of having these
conferences is to bring the three
Missions, who practically be¬
long to the same order, into a
closer union. For the same
reason a periodical had been
started by the three Missions two
years ago, called the Chinese
Christian Fortnightly .
1910]
309
Missionary News
When meeting together two
years ago a representative com¬
mittee was selected from the
three Missions, to prepare a
new hymn book with tunes for
the use of the three Missions.
Both the new hymnal and the
new hymn book were now
laid before the conference. The
hymn book forms a fine volume
containing not less than 480
hymns, 196 of which are either
newly translated from the Ger¬
man or taken from other existing
hymn books. The old hymnal
has also been carefully recast
and is enriched by many new
tunes taken from the best avail¬
able German and English sources,
containing altogether 247 tunes,
compared to 140 in the old
hymnal. Reports were read by
the secretaries of the three
societies, giving the statistics of
last year. They are as follows :
BASEL MISSION.
Stations, 10; out-stations, 92 ;
Christians, 10,554; catechumens,
816; ordained preachers, 6:
trained catechists, 86; assistant
catechists, 43 ; schools, 53 ; scho¬
lars, 1,560; male teachers, 77;
female teachers, 12 ; theological
seminary 1, students, 50; mid¬
dle school, 1 ; morrnal school, 1 ;
students, 70; hospitals, 2, with
two branch hospitals; baptisms
during 1909, 439; Y. M. C. A., 3.
BERLIN MISSION.
Stations and out-stations, 113 ;
Christians, 8,051; ordaiued preach¬
ers, 5 ; catechists, 49 ; assis¬
tant catechists, 69 ; male teach¬
ers, 52 ; female, 8 ; primary
schools, 48, with 1,038 scholars ;
secondary schools 2; scholars,
76; middle school 1; scholars,
43; girls’ schools, 6; scholars,
176; baptisms during 1909, 542 ;
contributions of the churches,
$2,742.46.
RHENISH MISSION.
Head stations, 7 ; out-stations,
17; Christians, 2,090; ordain¬
ed preacher, 1 ; catechists, 12 ;
assistant catechists, 14; male
teachers, 20; female, 4; theo¬
logical seminary 1 ; students, 13 ;
middle school, 1; scholars, 22 ;
secondary school (boys) 1 ; scho¬
lars, 37 ; secondary school (girls),
1, scholars, 41 ; primary schools,
26 ; scholars, 729; Sunday
Schools, 3 ; scholars, 107; hos¬
pitals, 2; leper asylum, i,
with 147 inmates, of whom
105 are baptized ; Bible-woman’s
school, 1 ; native contributions,
$2,034.17; baptisms during
1909, 301.
North China Educational Union.
The North China Educational
Union Board of Managers held
its annual meeting at the Union
Medical College on February 8
and 9, 19 to. In the absence of
Dr. Cochrane, the Chairman,
Rev. C. H. Fenn, D.D., was
elected Chairman pro tern. The
following Missions were repre¬
sented on the Board: London
Mission, American Presbyterian,
American Board, Woman’s For¬
eign Missionar}'' Society of the
M. E. Church. In the Union
Medical College three other
Societies also unite—the London
Medical Missionary Association,
the Church of England, and the
Peking University, and that
Board of Managers also met 011
February 8.
Excellent reports were given
from all of the colleges in the
Union—Arts, Woman’s Theolo¬
gical, Medical, and Woman’s
Medical.
There was considerable discus¬
sion as to plans for enlarging
and perfecting the Union, with
the object of uniting all of the
310
The. Chinese Recorder
[April
Missions in North China if possi¬
ble. A special committee for
this purpose had been appointed
the preceding' year, and its re¬
port \vas received. In response
to an invitation given last year
to the Societies cooperating in
the Medical College to come into
full membership iu the Union,
the reply of one of these Socie¬
ties raised an important question
as to conditions of membership,
and this led to the referring of
the whole matter to a new spe¬
cial committee of five members
for report later ; it being thought
that certain changes in the Basis
of Union may be necessary to
the further development of the
Union.
The same question arising in
the Medical Union, it was
thought wise to appoint there a
joint committee of the bodies
originally uniting iti that, and
it is hoped that this committee
will be able to make such a re¬
port as to clear up any remaining
indefiniteness iu the Basis of
Union of the Medical College.
Three or four years ago it
was decided that the College
year should begin at the Chinese
New Year, in conformity with
the usual custom of the govern¬
ment schools. Later it was dis¬
covered that this plan was not
suitable for the Woman’s College,
and permission was given for
that institution to return to the
old time; the academic year
opening in the autumn. This
year one of the Missions pro¬
posed that all of the colleges
go back to this former plan ; the
claim being that the govern¬
ment schools themselves are
now adopting the foreign school
year. While no definite decision
was reached, the matter was
referred to a committee re¬
presenting the several college
faculties.
It was decided that diplomas,
which have heretofore been sign¬
ed by the principal of the college
concerned, shall hereafter have
also the signature of the chair¬
man of the Board of Managers.
A movement was inaugurated
for bringing about the adoption
of a uniform schedule of studies
for lower grade schools connected
with the Missions in the Union.
A committee was appointed to
prepare such a schedule, and
this committee is also to consider
two related questions: Shall
English be introduced as a
regular study in these lower
schools as is already being done
in most of the colleges ? and,
Should there be uniform exami¬
nation papers made out for use
in all of these schools ? The
aim is a well-developed school
system.
Chari.es E. Ewing, Secretary.
C. H. Fenn, Chairman.
Chihli Provincial Federation of
Protestant Missions.
The biennial Council of the
above Federation met at the
American Board Mission, iu Pe¬
king, on February 23-25, 1910.
There were present 36 delegates
from the various missions.
A special prayer meeting was
held on the evening of the 23rd,
and the Executive met at 9.30
a.m., on the 24th.
The following addresses were
delivered during the meetings:
Rev. J. W. Eowrie, D.D. (A.
P. M.), on The Essentials of
True Unity, based on John
xvii. 21; Rev. Ui Pen-yuan
(A. B. C. F. M.), on The
Duties and Privileges of Federa¬
tion iu China; Rev. Liu Fang
(M. E. M.), on The Benefits of
Federation; Mr. Ch‘eng Chiug-
1910]
Missionary Journal
311
yi (L. M. S.)> on the Progress
and Continuity of True Union ;
Rev. A H. Smith, D.D. (A.
B. C. F. M.), on the Evils of
Divisions and how to guard
against them.
At the business, meetings the
following resolutions were adopt¬
ed unanimously :—
1. That each Mission iti the
Federation be respectfully asked
to appoint one representative so
as to form an Evangelistic Asso¬
ciation for the province, which
shall endeavour to find out what
districts there are still unoccupi¬
ed by the Protestant Mission
and devise plans for evangelis¬
ing same.
2. That we publish annually a
booklet, giving details of stations
and out-stations, with names of
foreign and Chinese agents in
connection with this Federa¬
tion ; and, further, to include a
list of unoccupied cities and large
towns; and, if possible, that a
small map be included in the
book.
3. That the Executive Com¬
mittee be instructed to consult
with the Executive of the North
China Tract Society as to the
feasibility of starting a Christian
paper.
4. That it is eminently desir¬
able that all Missions adopt a
common ritual, if possible, for
funerals, marriages and other
customs. That each Mission
working in Peking be requested
to appoint delegates, one Chinese
and one foreign, to form a com¬
mittee for the consideration of
such matters, whose report shall
be submitted to the next Coun¬
cil meeting for discussion, with
a view of applying same to the
whole province as far as possible. ’
5. That, in future, three
months’ notice be given to all
Missions forming the Federation
of the time and place of the
biennial Council meetings.
Rev. C. H. Feun, D.D., show¬
ed and described a map of the
province, covering the terri¬
tories wherein the Missions
forming the Federation are
workiug, and members of the
Missions, including the Bible
Societies and Y. M. C. A., gave
brief statements as to the extent
and prospects of the work done
within those areas.
Other matters, of local import¬
ance, were also dealt with.
W. Hopkyn Rees,
Hon. Sec.
Missionary Journal.
BIRTHS.
AT Kaying, Swatow, 4th February,
to Rev. and Mrs. J. H. GiFlTN, A. B.
M. TJ., a daughter, Louise Mar¬
garet.
At Kutsingfu, 15th February, to Mr,
and Mrs. D. J. Harding, a sou.
AT Kaishan, Honan, 23rd February,
to Rev. and Mrs. Erik Sovik, A.
L. M., a son, Elgar Christian,
ATCanton, 2nd March, to Mr. and Mrs.
R. T. Cowx.es, a son, Paul William.
At Hangchow, 6th March, to Rev. and
Mrs. Clarence I). Herriott, A. P.
M., a daughter, Margaret Holden.
At Hwaikingfu, Honan, 13th March,
to Rev. and Mrs. J. A. MowatT,
C. P. M., a son.
AT Hangchow, 23rd March, to Rev.
and Mrs. Doherty, C. I. M., a
daughter, Beatrice Florence Eleanor.
$t2
The Chinese Recorder
MARRIAGES.
At Holy Trinity Cathedral, Shanghai,
Miss Andekson and Mr. NlCOLL,
of Cliefoo. Independent.
At Sianfu, Mr. C. J. JknSEN to
Miss E. E. Pettekson, C. I. M.
AT Foochow, 25th February, WaWKR
W. W I lei ams, M.D., and Miss
Grace ii. Travis, both M. E. M.
A'r Tientsin, 16th February, Mr.
August H. Reinhard and Miss
Peake Robinette, both S. C. M.
DEATHS.
AT Hongkong, 3rd February, Mrs.
\V. T. Locke, A. P. M.
AT Fangcheng, Hupeh, 16th February,
Oscar Rudolph, Jr., aged 4 years,
and NEVIUS LEh, aged 2 years, 4
months, beloved and only sons
of Rev. and Mrs. 0 . W. Wold,
Hauges Synod Mission, of small*
pox and pneumonia.
AT Siangtan, Hunan, 8th February,
Ruth Althea, aged 1 year, 2
months, and 2 days, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Shantz, C. and
M. A.
At Soochow, 22nd March, Hampden
C. DuBosE, D.D., aged 64 years.
ARRIVALS.
February 27th, Mrs. A. Aldridge,
Eng. Bapt. (ret.).
March 4th, Dr. P. S. EvAnS aiid
family, A. B. M., South, Yangchow
(ret.) ; Dr. W, F. Seymour and
family, A. P. M , Tungchow (ret.) ;
Bishop White and wife, Kai-fong-fu
(ret.).
March 5th, Miss Anderson, from
Scotland, for Chefoo. Independent,
March 8th, Dr. W. and Mrs. WIL¬
SON, Misses F. H. Culverwell and
F. Lloyd, C. I. M., returned from
England via Siberia.
March 12th, Rev. F. W. Bible and
family, A. P. M., returned from
U . S. A.
[April, 1910
March 14th, Rev. G. F. and Mrs.
Easton (ret.), Misses H. E. Lk-
vermore, E. F. HEiss, L. M. Shil¬
ton, N. Fugl, M'.'B, Ewens and D.
M. WATNEY, M.B., D.B.S., from
England ; Mrs. H. J. HELGi.sen from
Norway, all C. I. M.
March 15th, Rev. A. A. Bullock
and wife, A. P. M., Nanking, returned
from U. S. A.
March 16th, Mr. E. O. Barber and
Miss M. E. Booth fret.) and Miss
Phyllis deck, from Australia, C.
I. M.
March 21st, Miss SuE M. Koons,
M.D., and Miss Sara M. Peters.
both M. E. M., returned from U. S. A.
DEPARTURES.
February ioth, Rev. and Mrs. E. L.
Mattox, A. P. M., Hangchow, for
U. S. A., via Europe.
March ist, Rev. P. J. King and
family, C. M. S., for England.
March 5th, Mr. and Mrs. J. MeiklE,
to England, C. I. M.
March 8th, Rev. J. T. McCutchen
and family, S. P. M., Chinkiang.
March 15th, Mrs. R. J. Gould and
three children, B. and F. B. S., to
England; Dr. P. D. Bergen and
family. A. P. M., Weishien, to U. S.
A.; the Misses Wolee, Miss N.
Thomas, C. M. S., Foochow; Mrs.
Harmon and children, E. B. M. ;
Mrs. H. T. Reid and Mrs, R. A.
Parker and three children, M. E.
M , South.
March 22nd, Rev. and Mrs. E.
D. Hill, Ch. of God Mission, for
Canada; Rev. F. Brown, M. E. M. ;
Dr. W. E. MACKLIN and family, F.
C. M.; Mrs. Boardman, S P. M ;
Dr. and Mrs. C. F Kupeer, Mr.
and Mrs. RICHTER, M. E. M., to
U. S. A.
March 18th, Misses C. RkAdshaw
and G. Banks, C. I. M., to England.
March 25th, Dr. J. N. HAyES and
family, A. P. M., Soochow, and Mr.
Julian HaBKN| for U. S. A. vict
England.
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, SHANGHAI,
THE CHINESE RECORDER
AND MISSIONARY JOURNAL
Published Monthly by the American Presbyterian Mission Press,
18 Peking Road, Shanghai, China
Editorial Board.
Editor-in-chief: Rev. G. F. Fitch, d.d.
Associate Editors: Rev. W. N. Bitton and Rev. D. W. Lyon.
Bishop J. W. Bashford. Rev. A. Foster. Rev.D.MAcGnj.iVRAY,D.D.
Rev. E. W. Burt, m.a. Rev.J.C. Garritt, d.d. Mr. G. McIntosh.
Rt. Rev. Bishop Casseus. Rev. J. C. Gibson, d.d. Rev. G. F. Mosher.
Dr. J. Darkoch. Rev. D. E. Hoste, Rev. A. H. Smith, d.d.
VOL. XLI
MAY, 1910
NO. 5
Editorial
The outstanding event of the past month has been the
trouble in Hunan. There have been many contributory cur¬
rents to the storm which has for the time being
overwhelmed the work of Christian missions in
that province. It is evident enough, however, that
the uprising is not specially anti-missionary, although it is
preponderatingly anti-foreign. The agitation against the rail¬
way loan, the remembrance of the deplorable circumstances
which attended the first financing of the Canton-Hankow railway,
the irresponsible agitation of an unreasoning anti-foreign pro¬
paganda, together with the local conditions of rice famine and
official negligence,—all have contributed to bring the present
lamentable condition of things to pass. Possibly the most
serious aspect of the whole situation is found in the significant
fact that the Hunanese troops could not be used to suppress the
rioters. The increasing efficiency of the foreign-drilled troops
of China will add not safety but menace to the situation if
these are not to be trusted to obey their officers in the interest
of order, or if their officers are not ready to use them for this
purpose. If the efficiency of the soldiery of China is to be
found on the side of lawlessness the outlook is not comforting.
What is to be the outcome of the present situation may not be
prophesied ; if Peking officialdom does not bestir itself to hold
rigidly in check the forces of disorder which play upon
314
The Chinese Recorder
[May
ignorance and are directed by fanaticism, then it is proving
itself a blind leader of the blind and can look forward to
nothing but destruction. Anti-foreign riots are among the
short cuts to dismemberment for this Empire. A regenerated
civil service and the sufficient education and nurture of the
people are the needed factors of reform and the means of future,
lasting security.
* * *
More than this no one who is a believer in the mission¬
ary enterprise but will feel that the position of affairs in Hunan
is an additional incentive to missionary service
Gbe AMsstonarg |.] 3ere< t ^ great door and an effectual is opened
to us, and there are many adversaries.’ Hu¬
nan is suffering from too little missionary effort of the right
kind. We say this advisedly, for any form of such effort
which is built upon wrong foundations, and which is identified
in the eyes of the people with law-suit troubles or an undue
insistence upon treaty rights in the face of local ill-will, is not
missionary effort of the right kind, and it produces the wrong
harvest. Hunan must be won in the spirit of Jesus Christ and
conquered by the goodness which is of God. Such a cause
must prevail.
There is therefore no need for undue alarm and no call
for counsels of panic. If China were not suffering from
ignorance and wrong, the missionary would not be here. The
greater the ignorance the deeper is the need, and the recent
troubles are in themselves a call to better and more faithful
service. To the Christian such outbursts as this of Hunan are
not the end of anything with which he has concern ; they may
and should be the beginning of a new way of life and opportu¬
nity. When the doors of the province are once more opened
we are sure that our missionaries will be among the first to
enter and to resume their labours for the welfare and regenera¬
tion of its people. In the meantime let it be made manifest
that our sympathy goes out to those who have been the un¬
thinking agents of our temporary disaster, for ‘ they know not
what they do. ’ Hunan will yet be the jewel of the conquest
crown of Jesus Christ in China.
* * *
DOES the fact of a Western education in itself make nearly
impossible a sufficient mastery of the Chinese language and
Editorial
315
1910]
its classics? There are educationists who suggest that life
is too short for the attainment of proficiency in both. But
why ? It is surely after all more a
Chinese Uroftclencs *n» tion of method than aught dse .
Western atta nment. ^ £|j- nese | s along rational and
scientific lines, the time so saved should more than suffice for
the acquisition of English and certain cognate subjects. Along
old lines and old methods a life-time was all too little for the
mastery of Chinese, but these are changing, and the result is
years of saving during the fifteen years of a career of study.
Should it happen that the wrong ideal is set before the youth
in our schools and they are taught to look first and chiefly
upon the attainments of Western scholarship, then it must
be that Chinese studies will go to the wall. An appreciation
of the needs of the nation will, however, save from such a
perversion of educational aim. To-day our leading education¬
ists of the West have seen clearly enough the folly of teaching
Greek to youths who are imperfectly acquainted with their
mother tongue. Substitute English for Greek and there
appears a danger which missionary education in China has
with difficulty avoided. A thorough knowledge of Chinese and
its literature is essential to a Chinese student, whatever his
calling in life may be. It is not needful for an English
education to preclude Chinese scholarship ; the question
is one of balance and care in the years of educational pre¬
paration.
Some cases have been cited recently of young Chinese
scholars who, after graduation, have deliberately and purposely
turned from the further study of Western knowledge in order
to devote their talents to the teaching of Chinese by scientific
methods. Such men are the educational prophets of a new
and long desired era. With them begins a race of student
teachers to whom the future of China will owe more than can
yet appear.
* * *
Missionary education in China is beginning at last to
recover from the wave of English study which threatened a
few 7 years ago to submerge it entirely.
Chinese Scholarship qq ie act j on 0 f the Peking government in
requiring from students educated abroad a
certain knowdedge of Chinese, seemed
hard to candidates at the time it was made effective, but has,
anD the Christian
Church.
The Chinese Recorder
[May
5T5
•without doubt, produced good results in enforcing upon the
attention of all college students the need for adequate knowledge
of their mother tongue. There is now on all hands a desire to
heighten the standard of Chinese study and to give the study
of the Chinese language its due place in school curricula. In
their propaganda along the lines of literary enterprise missions
are bound to remain dependent upon Chinese scholarship.
The old type of scholar is passing away and the new scholar¬
ship which is available to the missionary is not as efficient in its
line as the old was. The encouragement of the Chinese scholar
is not only an attitude which should be adopted for its own
sake, since we are in China for China’s good and not to west¬
ernise her and her ideals, but is also an important factor in the
success of missionary work. While the number of English-
speaking Chinese is bound to increase enormously and at a
growing rate, it is not likely that a day will ever come
when anything other than the Chinese language can be
made the medium of evangelistic and literary effort in this
empire. It is a subject which makes its demand on the
missionary in regard to his personal attainment, and must
press with increasing persistence upon his mission policy both
in church and school.
tTbe Cburcb anb
Institutions.
* * *
The remarkable extension of institutional work in connec¬
tion with missions in China which has been witnessed during
the past few years, due in large measure to
the increasing interest which is taken by the
supporters of missions in the education policy
of missions and especially in regard to the establishment and
equipment of high schools and colleges, has possibly proceeded
at too great a pace for the necessary balance to be secured
between the strength of the church as such and its investments
in work along institutional lines. Most Christian workers in
all centres of service where institutional work has been devel¬
oped out of due proportion to the church life with which it is
or should be connected, are agreed that a very necessary and
vital factor is thereby missing from missionary equipment.
There are fields of missionary labour where tremendous and
apparently successful educational institutions are existing side
by side with a weak and struggling Christian church. Such a
condition of affairs is the reverse of admirable. In general it
1910]
Editorial
317
would seem that unless special circumstances call for unique
enterprises, missionary policy ought to be directed towards
the establishment of educational work in connection with
existing church organisations, and evangelistic enterprise
should be placed from the very beginning in the forefront of
institutional service. Education does not of itself tend to the
upbuilding of a Christian church, but it cannot be too strenu¬
ously asserted that where educational work is begun and carried
on in direct connection with church work and under the
impulse of evangelism, the result is always an enormous strength¬
ening of the Church of Christ with which it is connected. It
is half the accomplishment of a problem to lay hold of it from
the beginning at the right end.
*
Gbe Chinese Cburcb
anb tloleratlon.
The question of religious toleration in China is one
which presses very heavily upon the Chinese church. Depend¬
ence upon the treaties for freedom to
exercise religious liberty and to do Chris¬
tian work is a hindrance enough to the
foreign missionary and too often productive of misunderstanding
and ill-will. When, however, the Chinese convert in his turn
has to make appeal to the terms of the treaties, and that
through a foreign Consul, in order to secure for himself freedom
to worship God, then the result is oftimes disastrous. It
is not to be wondered at that the intrusion of foreign influence
into the realm of Chinese state policy on behalf of Chinese
citizens should be resented. The influence of the foreign
ecclesiastic has always been a source of provocation in political
history and it is proving no less so in China to-day. But the
remedy is not yet clear to the mind of Chinese statesmen, how¬
ever plainly it may be written for students of history in the West.
A belief in liberty as the remedy for certain specific national
difficulties demands a measure of trust on the part of both
governors and governed which is lacking among the Chinese
and which is not any more evident to-day than it was a genera¬
tion ago. Nothing short of religious toleration, however,
can finally solve the political problem which the fact of the
Christian church raises in China.
Will the proposed constitution bring this any nearer ? If
the constitution is fixed and the religious question is left in the
indeterminate state which marks it to-day, serious difficulties
318
The Chinese Recorder
[May
are inevitable. Yet the constitution is a matter of Chinese
politics with which foreigners, however interested they may
be, have no direct concern. Should not the Chinese Christian
leaders get together and attack this problem by approaching, in
their own names and on their own behalf, the government
of the empire with a plea for toleration and for a recognition
of the religious rights of man ? Interference on the part
of foreigners, howsoever good the motive may be, is more
likely to hinder than to help the cause. Upon the Chinese
rests the right, as well as the need, for some action; the
problem as well as the hardship is chiefly theirs.
* * *
There is a call to-day greater than there has been at any
time in the last generation for men of wide vision in the
_. ^ „ mission field of this Empire. Understanding of
fn peril ot A , &
Change the times and a °ig outlook were never more
needed than to-day, for the opportunity is great
and the difficulties unique. The magnitude of the problem
which China presents leads some to pessimism and drives others
into exaggeration. We need the calm mind of assured strength
and the far sight of simple faith. ‘ With God all things are
possible’ should be a note of sustaining grace to us, and we
should find refuge and hope from the history of God’s Church
in the world. Missionaries to China should not be amongst
those who stumble at great things, since it is to great things
that they are called.
The policy which the day calls for is that which is kindled
in devotion to the person and message of Jesus Christ and
which embraces in its sweep the entire regeneration of the race.
Changing conditions do not affect such a policy as this, for it
stands upon sure ground and knows its ultimate aim. Its
methods are adaptable as the demands of the situation may
require, its source and object are unchanging. It can always
lead the doubting and win the erring because its standard is
sure, and it is neither distressed nor disturbed by the details of
the hour. The passing phases of world politics, the rise and
fall of national sentiment, the educational change and the ever
widening range of discovery all fall into place and serve a
purpose when the outlook is eternal and the scope universal.
Then it is true that ‘all things are ours.’ The conditions in
China to-day demand no less an ideal than this.
1910]
Editorial
319
“ me woulD
see Jesus.”
Even though the remarkable interest in Christianity on
the part of Chinese students in Tokyo, reported elsewhere in
this issue (see page 373}, be due in part to their
consciousness of China’s weaknesses, it is no less
an occasion for gratitude to God that the interest
is there. Gike the Israelites of old some of them are hearing
the divine call to individual repentance through the medium of
the nation’s need. It is surely encouraging to learn that their
attitude is more than one of a mere willingness to hear what
the man who knows has to say. In their eager search after
the deeper significance of the truth, they reveal an earnest
enthusiasm which betokens sincerity. Get us pray that the
One who is the embodiment of the truth they would know,
may become to many of them also the way and the life !
Get us remember, too, their brother-students in China.
What the Chinese students in Tokyo are thinking to-day, the
Chinese students in government institutions in China will be
thinking to-morrow. The attitude of the former will soon
be the attitude of the latter. Where are the Andrews and
Philips to acquaint them with the Jesus they need to see and
know?
* * *
The Editor-in-chief of the Recorder will, we are assured,
have the sympathy of all our readers in the accident which
has befallen him. Dr. Fitch was knocked from
b * cycle * n the streets of Shanghai and sustain¬
ed a fracture of the thigh bone of his leg. He
is now in hospital and making satisfactory progress. Our work
can ill spare the wise counsel of our senior colleague, to whose
judgment aud perseverance this Journal owes much. Dr.
Fitch has endeared himself both by the large heartedness of his
life and by the constancy of his work to all who have been in
any way associated with him, and we trust that ere long his
familiar figure will again be seen in the accustomed places of
his many-sided labours.
* * *
WE have received a letter from the venerable Dr. Martin
thanking the Recorder for its appreciative notice
t, at n. di amon( j jubilee and offering his grateful
thanks to the numerous friends who sent him notes and cards
on that occasion.
320
The Chinese Recorder
[May, \<m
Zhe Sanctuary
“ The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."— St. James v, 16.
“ For where two or three are gathered together in my Name, there am I in the midst of
them."— St. Matthew xviii, 20.
Pray
x. For the Chinese People :
That their religious sense may be
aroused. (P. 330.)
That they may as a nation soon
come to feel the existence of the
Christian religion as a system of
thought. (P. 329.)
That for the gods now worshipped
by them there may be substituted that
one God who alone can teach a higher
moral life than Confucianism or their
philosophy can give. (P. 326.)
That the good and evil now inex¬
tricably mixed up in their minds may
become clearly separated. ( P. 322.)
That the same intense sense of sin
that Christian people have, may de¬
velop and grow in their lives. (P. 322.)
That they may as a nation no longer
rest content with being no worse than
the highest they know. (P. 326.)
That they may be converted to the
religion that can give them a higher
moral teaching against avarice. (P.
324 *)
2. For Chinese Christian Scholars:
That Chinese members of the church
may come to a consciousness of the
need for able men to prepare liter¬
ature. (P. 328.)
For the preparation of such an
apologia as will enable the church to
justify itself in the midst of a hostile
and unbelieving nation. (P. 329.)
3. For the Missionary Body :
That they may individually grow
so in holiness as never to be able to
find, and never to seek, an excuse for
a sin committed. (P. 327.)
That more may be added of the
kind who shall never know defeat
and who are able to do the impossi¬
ble things. (P. 353.)
That they may more fully, ever,
appreciate the true nature of the prob¬
lem that confronts them. (P. 333.)
That they may have the ability to
see and the strength and grace to
use such evangelistic methods as will
most nearly meet the needs of the
work they are actually doing. (P. 333.)
That they may carefully discri¬
minate in the doctrines they preach,
and by a more sympathetic use of
Chinese literature be enabled to
preach the Gospel in the form that
will be the most readily understood
by the people. (P. 334.)
That there may be, on their part,
less “unnecessary trembling over
the ark of God.” (P. 334 .1
That they may be helped in solving
the problem of combining a higher
evangelization with a higher educa¬
tion. (P. 337.)
That they may be led to a more
definite and a more determined en¬
deavor to win the literati. (P. 335.)
A Prayer.
O Thou Good Shepherd of the
sheep, look mercifully upon those
who have none to watch over them
in Thy name. Prepare them to re¬
ceive Thy truth and send them
pastors after Thine own heart. Re¬
plenish with Thine abundant grace
those whom Thou dost send and
awaken the pity of Thy people for
all these strangers to Thy covenant,
so that, by their cheerful contribu¬
tion and the cooperation of Thy
Holy Spirit, multitudes may daily
be added to the church and become
partakers of the salvation which Thou
hast promised, O Ford and lover of
souls. Amen.
Give Thanks
That “ holy, holy, holy is the
Lord of Hosts and the whole earth
is full of His glory.” (P. 325.)
For the revelation of a holy God
that was given to the Jews and through
them has been handed down to us.
(P. 324.)
For the “millions” of names in
Christendom that are holy and for
the example and help these have giv¬
en to us of to day. (P. 326.)
That the foreign missionaries in
China, in spite of their handicaps,
have yet been able to do work of a
high order in preparing for the Chris¬
tianization of the empire. (P. 343.)
For the many men of first rank in
business and professional circles who
have been produced by the Christian
church in China. (P. 339.)
For the encouragement given in
places where self-government has been
tried by the closer drawing together
of the Chinese and foreign workers,
(F. 3370
Contributed Articles
The Chinese and Christian Idea of Sin
Notes of a sermon preached by the Rev. C. E. Darwent in Union
Church, March 13th, 1910.
Leviticus xi. 44, “For T the Lord your God am holy; sanctify your¬
selves ; therefore be ye holy, for I am holy,”
O NE day I was discussing the subject which is of peren¬
nial interest, and which inevitably crops up when
foreigners foregather, the subject of the idiosyncrasies
of the Chinese, especially the cases of untrustworthiness one
so often meets with ; the disappearing shroff, the peculating
Mandarin, that peculiarity which Dr. Arthur Smith calls the
power of “absorption,” that national feature of character, in
which being caught is as bad, if not more to be dreaded than
committing the sin. Someone present there said ; Are there
any really honest Chinese? That was sure to be said ; it
always is said.
Then at this moment there came to me light on this
question as I had never seen it before, and because you may
not have that light I want to pass it on to you this morning.
I said you have no right to expect the Chinese to possess
as high a moral standard as we have. For one thing, if the
Chinese can by any possibility be as good as we are on the
average, if they can be expected to have as high a standard
as we have, then it is obvious that Christianity has nothing to
teach them and missions are an impertinence and a mistake.
That is clear. And those friends of the Chinese who always
try to make out that they are as good as we and cap every
story of Chinese obliquity with one of foreign obliquity prove
too much. They destroy the basis of missionary effort.
I said further, not only are the Chinese not in as
high moral condition as Christian nations, but they cannot
be . Try as he may, be as faithful as he may to the light God
has given him, let him keep his conscience as clear as is
possible from the veil of polytheism, the Chinaman, and
every heathen man, cannot by any possibility reach the level
Note —Readers of the Recorder are reminded that the Editorial Board
assumes no responsibility for the views expressed by the writers of articles
published in these pages.
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[May
even of a very inferior Christian ; he cannot have the same
intense sense of sin, lie cannot, do what he may, feel the
shame, the guilt of it; he uses words like ‘sorry,’ ‘repent,’
‘ shame ’ as we Christians do, but they have not the same
content; these words cannot, by any possibility, connote the
same poignancy of realization of the guilt and iniquity of sin
as they do in us. It is futile therefore as well as foolish for the
missionary or any other friend of the Chinese, it is suicidal
as far as the propaganda of the Gospel is concerned to attempt,
to maintain that the Chinese or any other heathen people
can reach our level in moral and spiritual life.
And the reason for this came over me as it had never done
before. It is that there is no such an idea in any heathen mind
as that of an absolute distinction between good and evil,
holiness and sin. That a “ great gulf” has been fixed from all
eternity between the holy and the sinful does not exist any¬
where except in those nations that have received it as a revela¬
tion from God, which is given in that wonderful religious
development which commenced in Moses and culminated in
Jesus Christ. There is no such a thing as a real sense of sin,
as we understand it, outside the Bible. Good and evil are hope¬
lessly and inextricably mixed up and always have been in the
minds of all men, except among the peoples who have seen light
in what we may call the Judaeo-Christian revelation that is
contained in the Bible. There is no absolute “ thou shalt not ”
and “ thou shalt ” outside that. Where the Bible is not known
and Christ is not known, the sinful and the holy run into one
another, modify one another, overlap one another, glide into
one another, are subtly interlaced with one another. So that
people like the Chinese cannot possibly feel the guilt and awful¬
ness of sin as we can do.
And the reason of this is that all heathenisms, ancient and
modern, and most of the anti-Christian philosophies, ancient
and modern, ar e pantheistic. That is the thought which, with
its practical consequence, I want to bring home to you.
Pantheism is the belief that “the universe as a whole, man
included, is God.” It may mean, as Professor Iverach says,
“either that the all is God, or else that God is all, that the
only real existence is God.” That is, it may signify that the
sum-total of particular existence is God, that the universe is
itself the only real being, or that God is the only real being,
and all finite being is only illusion and appearance.
The Chinese and Christian Idea of Sin
323
1910 ]
This may sound, to some rather mystifying, but the
essence of it is that there is but one principle or being in
existence. Call it God or the universe, call it what you like,
it is but one. There is no real separation anywhere between
God and the world, or the gods and the world, and the
principles good and evil that govern it. How then can people
who think in this way feel about sin as we do ? They argue
and act upon their arguments logically enough. They say :
“What we call sin or evil certainly exists; therefore there
must be something to be said for it; it cannot be quite as bad
as our conscience suggests.” There is no getting out of
that conclusion. Sin or evil do exist. They must therefore
have some place in the divine if all is divine. There is no
escaping that.
And as a matter of fact if we only look for a moment into
all heathenisms we find that to be the case.
There is no holy God who can say “Be ye holy, for I
am holy,” but the God of the Bible, the God of Christ. All
heathenisms have gods who are direct patrons and gods of
sins. Among even those great men, the Romans, Mercury “ was
the god of thieves and pickpockets and all dishonest persons, as
well as of merchants and orators.” That was pleasant for the
members of these two distinguished callings, but how could
any Roman feel that stealing was a very heinous sin when it
had a god ? Impossible. It is so in China. Thieves have
their patron god. In the time of St. Paul the great temple of
Venus at Corinth had a thousand priestesses. And who do you
think these priestesses were ? They were a thousand prostitutes.
Seeing that sins of the flesh had a goddess, the Greek drew
the inevitable and logical conclusion that indulgence in the
flesh would please the goddess. In all heathenisms, founded
on pantheism, nature and man and the gods, the moral and
unmoral are all jumbled together in one confused whole.
“Whatever is, is right.” “It must be in some way right, else
how could it exist at all,” argues the mind of man ; and only
dishonest thinking can, on the basis of pantheism, deny it.
Think how the Romans and Greeks deified men ! Not
on the ground of holy character, no, but on the ground of
some great deed. In his 26th Homily on II. Corinthians,
Chrysostom taunts them with making Alexander the 13th
“ god.” And he says : “ They make even boxers gods.” And
so they did. How then could they be as good as the men in
324 The Chinese Recorder [May
tile Christian churches who having seen the glory of Jeliovah
and the sinlessness of Christ knew what man should be ?
And here in China it is as I have said—gods and men,
fire and water, good and evil, are all mingled together in such
a dreadful jumble that the natural conscience of the nation
must be blinded. “There is a god, Lu Tai-peh,” says the
late Dr. DnBose, “ who is worshipped by drunkards.” Compare
that with St. Paul’s: “No fornicators nor drunkards shall
inherit the kingdom of God.” How can any Chinese feel
the sting and shame of it as w r e ? There is a god of wealth.
Then the more you pray to him for riches, anyhow obtained,
the more you honour him. Chinese moral teaching has words
against avarice, but not their religion. There is a god of war,
often the patron of trade guilds. How cau there be that sense
of the wickedness of war that has never been absent from what
I may for brevity’s sake call the Bible religion ? There is
nothing in Chinese religion like this: “There shall be no
more war; they shall beat their spears into pruning hooks,”
and nothing like this: “ Blessed are the peacemakers.” No,
avarice and fighting are, after all, in the world ; they exist;
therefore there must be something to say for them ; let them
have their gods. That is the only conclusion the heathen
can draw. This thought could be illustrated from the Indian
and every other form of heathenism.
But now turn to the Bible. Here is my text. Here is
light. “Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with
any creeping things, for I am the Lord your God; ye shall
therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy, because
I am holy.” That must be a revelation ! If not how did
the Jews come to find out that which all the most brilliantly
intellectual nations of the world had missed ? God is holy.
There is one above all infinitely holy who is not touched by
evil. However sin entered the world it is not in Him or from
Him. It is in man, not in God. He is against it, He hates
it. By no kind of philosophical jugglery could the Jew deify
sin, make Jehovah its patron. The Jews fell into sin, but
they never in their deepest fall attributed it to God. The
kernel, the heart, the centre of the universe was unstained.
God was holy. “ The term holy,” as Dr. Orr says, “denotes
God (i) in His distinction from, and infinite exaltation above,
anything that is creaturely and finite ; and (2) in His separation
from all moral impurity, or positively in the splendour of His
1910]
The Chinese and Christian Idea of Sin
325
moral perfection.” That is it. The foundation of all true
religion is God’s holiness. The pantheistic idea can be made
fascinating, but it is ruinous to all religious life. Let Him
cease to be holy ; how can any unholiness be sinful ; why
should we be holy ? Why indeed ?
The holiness of God means that He is separate from the
world with its sin, however much truth there is in His imma¬
nence. He cannot be immanent in evil things and evil men.
Heathenism has no idea of this. To it the world is eternal.
Where it speaks of a creator, it only means a fashioner of
the eternally existing material of the universe. The sub¬
stance of the universe, including good and evil , is eternal.
Therefore evil, when all is said and done about its iniquity, is a
part of nature. It cannot be so bad. The primitive substance,
out of which all things are made, had evil in it as well as
good. It is only in that marvellous religious development of
which we have a record in the Bible that the finite is put in its
proper place, that the Eternal is free from all complicity with
sin. He is holy, on the side of holiness, working for holiness,
labouring so intently that His Son shed His blood to bear
away the sin of the world.
There is nothing approaching that in any heathenism.
You cannot have a holy God who is not personal, separate
from the world. God as “world-process,” as the “soul of
the universe” and in other alias in which modern pantheism
disguises its unbelief, cannot be holy. Holiness implies a
personal will in God. You cannot be holy without that, nor
could God. Heathenism knows nothing of that. Only the
Bible has a God “glorious in holiness.” The “heavens are
not clean in His sight,” is Job’s awestruck exclamation.
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is
filled with His glory,” says Isaiah. And so the majestic
revelation grows brighter in its undimmed lustre until the
sinless Son of God comes among us, carrying in His own
person the spotless holiness of God “who sitteth upon the
throne of His holiness” into the very midst of humanity with
all its sordid sin, to be a Redeemer of man from sin and fill
him with the holiness of God. “ Who shall not fear thee and
glorify thy name, for thou art holy.”
What heathen can feel about his sin as you do who have
had this revelation of the holiness of God ? He cannot. To
him after all sin is a feature, a necessary feature in nature or in
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the nature of things, so it cannot be so very guilty. If he lies,
what about it? It is natural. If he is cruel, after all, nature
is cruel. He is no worse than the highest being he knows of.
It is certainly a marvel that the natural conscience of men
is so sensitive to sin. The good men of heathenism stand
high ; it is very beautiful to think of them. But it is as the
author of “ Ecce Homo” says: “There are only one or two
names in all heathenism that can be described as holy. In
Christendom there are millions; every village has some.” This
is because we have a holy God. The heathen with his natural
conscience blinded by pantheism has a god who is mixed of
good and evil. Why should he be better than lie ?
The thing that destroyed the religion of the classical
nations was that the moral teaching and consciousness of Greece
and Rome got ahead of their religion. Philosophers taught a
higher morality than the religion did. People began to laugh
at the gods who were worse than themselves. How could
those nations rise to high levels with their religion putting
them back ? It is so in China. Confucianism or philosophy
teaches a higher moral life than the gods of China have.
How then can China rise to high levels with her base gods
whom she worships? No nation can rise above its religion.
It is as Professor Orr says : “ All pantheistic systems with
theories of idealism which exclude, or inadequately affirm the
Divine Personality, are hostile to Christian views of sin.”
That is so. And we have to watch that to-day, and in
our teaching hold up before men, Christian and heathen, God’s
holiness. Let that go, all goes. Let God be in any way
identified with the universe; then sin is part of Him ; it is in
Him. He is in some way responsible for it. It ceases to be sin.
That is true of Spinoza, whose pantheism is so attractive
to the modern mind. He says: “Repentance is foolish.”
Of course it is, if the all is God and evil is part of the
all. Why should a thief repent ? It is true of all the modern
philosophies that originate with Hegel, who taught that sin
is a “step upward,” the first step towards moral life on the
part of man. That is false. The possibility of sinning is neces¬
sary for moral life, but not actual sinning. The Bible is
clear in that matter. Jesus Christ was tempted, but He did
not sin. God is holy, absolutely holy. This is true of Monism,
which is so popular. This conception makes all that exists,
God included, one. Then the conclusion is inevitable. Sin
1910 ] Accomplished Chinese Scholars for Literary Work 327
is not sin. It is part of the whole. We shall never lift up
the Chinese by teaching them that. Let there be no mistake
about that. Whenever that is held, the sense of sin is whittled
down and tends to disappear, and no redemption will be needed.
This matter is of immense practical importance to us
all. We are ever urging excuses for our sins, we say they are
“inevitable,’’ the result of circumstances, and so on. No.
The Gospel repeats that grand declaration: “I the Lord
your God am holy ; therefore be ye holy.” We must make
no terms with sin. Whatever may have been its origin God
is clear of it. In Christ He redeems us from it.
This is the hope of the world. There is no hope in
what are called “the ethnic religions.” In them evil is
entwined in the very fibre and heart of the universe and
their followers cannot be expected to “hate iniquity.” But
our holy God creates hope. He is righteousness and truth,
He will labour through His Holy Sou till “there be no more
curse, and there shall be no night there, and they need no
candle nor light of the sun, for the Lord God giveth them
light, and they shall reign for ever and ever.”
How May the Christian Church Secure the
Services of Accomplished Chinese
Scholars for Literary Work.
BY REV. EVAN MORGAN, C. L. S.
A ND by this it is understood that these scholars shall be
followers of the Christian faith and be imbued with the
Christian spirit and ideals. In the end only such men
can adequately present the Christian doctrine in a full and a
convincing way. Hitherto the church for the most part has
been and is dependent on mercenaries. These men have
rendered valuable help, and we should be thankful for it during
the time of our poverty. But this method can never be per¬
manent nor satisfactory. What does not spring directly from
native soil will lack the blush and bloom of vitality, and the
expression of the Christian tenet by the pen of a scholar, who
is not fully in sympathy with his subject, will lack fire and
imagination, and, that nice turn of phrase which makes all the
328
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[May
difference between the quick and the dead. So far the church
in China is not able to command the services of any of her
children in preparing the great apologia which only literature
can furnish.
It is not easy to say how this want may be supplied. A
few preliminary considerations may help us to realize the
gravity of the situation and give some indication how to remedy
the defect.
A CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE NEED SEEMS TO BE THE FIRST
condition OF SUCCESS. This is not always recognised. It
has been all too inadequately considered in the past for reasons
that will appear later on. Before stating some of the more parti¬
cular and definite needs, it would be well to consider some general
ideas that bear on the subject. Literature has been the great
instrument at all times in the hand of the church for carrying
on its work of advocating its claims and repelling attacks. If
it lacks the native ability to create this instrument it loses
greatly in force and efficiency. Just consider the value of this
organ in consolidating the church and establishing it on the
firm foundation of a common service and a common aim.
Scattered are the units that go up to make the one church, but
by means of literature a cohesive power is given to unify the
whole. The work of one is made known to all and the aspira¬
tions of a few become the property of many. It also tends to
preserve the purity of practices and keep intact the ideals from
one age to another. It is at once a corrective to tyranny and
a stimulus to action. It is the sure bond of unity and the safe
guard of individual liberty. Its service to humanity can no¬
where be more beatifully seen than in China. In the face of
much that is mutually hostile and competing interests, in a
country with great diversities of climate, and a people of many
moods and temperaments, amongst a people where forms of
speech are more numerous than their provinces, in the social
varieties and political distinctions we have the wonderful spec¬
tacle of a vast nation held together by common sentiments
transmitted by means of literature. It has preserved for these
millions a measure of liberty and democratic ideas which have
been of immense benefit. Ancient ideals live to-day in the pages
of the sacred word. Not only so, but this very bond reveals the
kinship of the sages of antiquity and the men of to-day. All
within the four seas are brethren. And the word is the reveal¬
ing and at the same time the unifying bond.
1910 ] Accomplished Chinese Scholars for Literary Work 329
Again of all the monuments of antiquity the work of
literary men is the most permanent as it is the clearest mirror
of the human mind. The dead continue in this way their
work. Clement, Augustine, Justin and a host of others,
though dead, yet speak to us. Other relics fade and crumble
into dust. The book alone becomes imperishable because the
substance can be transmitted from one medium to another
without loss of value. These can be renewed every age and can
convey the thought of one generation to another for long ages.
And thus the past lives again in the present as the present will
in the future. Institutions undergo constant change ; fashions,
even in religion, become corrupted, and what the disciples
initiated would not be recognized by them were they to appear
in our midst to-day, but the words they committed to faithful
men in the first century continue without change. The value
of literature must be apparent to any reflecting mind who
considers what it has done for the church and mankind. And
one cannot help regretting the lack of native talent in the
church of China to wield this instrument in its own interests.
But let us consider the need of such men more
particularly. There is the preparation of the church’s
apologia. The great work of the church must be to justify
itself in the midst of a hostile and unbelieving nation. It must
advance its interest by convincing the unbelieving and over'
coming opponents and finally bring the intellectual wealth of
this land to the obedience of God as revealed in Christ. We
must be under no delusion as to the ultimate condition on
which success aud triumph rest, and it is that the nation must
be convinced that Christian truth is necessary for it and the
best instrument for human progress. And until the intellect
of the land is convinced, and there has been an acceptance of
Christ by it we can never feel the position of the church safe,
nor its final triumph assured. For this work of the church the
services of its own accomplished children is necessary. Twenty-
five years ago I heard Dr. Nevius express the opinion that
the difficulties of the church had not then appeared. But they
would arise in time and we should early prepare for them.
The difficulties are more apparent to-day than they were then.
But even yet they are not keen. For this reason: that Chinese
and Christian thought have not yet really come face to face.
The Chinese, as a nation, has not yet felt the existence of the
Christian religion as a system of thought, It has only been
330
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[May
regarded politically. As a system of thought there has been no
contact. It has neither aroused the nation to think, nor stirred
it into opposition. And for this cause that the church has
lacked a share of the nation’s intellect. Christian thought
moves outside the national current of thought. It is therefore
most desirable to obtain accomplished men {a) TO AROUSE THE
RELIGIOUS SENSE of China. It is quite time that an angel
descended and disturbed the pool. They are only possible
when the church provides them. The religions sense is dor¬
mant and thought is stagnant; we want accomplished natives to
enter and arouse the great locked forces of this people. ( b) To
lead the intellectual life of the church. Christian thought will
move slowly in any case. But unless capable men appear it
will never move at all. There are great possibilities before
the church when its wealth shall be interpreted by Chinese
philosophy. We may hopefully look for new expositions that
will fit the Christian dogma to Chinese ideals. There is a
possibility here that will help the whole body and the Eastern
church will return the capital loaned to it with generous
interest. But not only are these intellectual leaders wanted
for the church, but they are also needed to propagate the
Christian idea in the laud. It is almost impossible to hope for
individual conviction on a large scale. Before this is feasible
a wide currency must be given to Christian ideas and they
must he so- spread that their weight shall be generally felt
before individual acceptance can be expected widely. Some
attempt a popular demonstration by means of plays and some
by ritual. But Protestants must look to literature for this
effect. This then is another call for the services of the
accomplished scholar and thinker, (c) But again we must
remember that when the clash of thought comes the attack on
the Christian faith is likely to be keen. We may expect that
there will be many a Chinese Celsus in the coming days.
Their keen wit and biting satire will not be spared. They
will be well-equipped and will not miss the weak points in the
presentation of Christian truth. For one tiling they, like Celsus,
will object to our claim of private judgment and condemn the
whole movement of men walling “themselves off and isolating
themselves from mankind.” This is a strong phase of ancient
Chinese literature. What the preacher says in all good faith
they will distort as Celsus did when he said “this is the
language of the Christians. ” “ Eet no cultured person draw near,
1910 ] Accomplished Chinese Scholars for Literary Work 331
none wise, none sensible, for all that kind of thing we count
evil, but if any man is ignorant, if any is wanting in sense and
culture, if any is a fool, let him come boldly. Such people
they avow to be worthy of their God, and so doing they show
that it is only the simpletons, the ignoble, the senseless slaves
and women folk and children, whom they wish to persuade, or
can persuade.” ‘‘For whom do they invite,” he continues.
“Whosoever is a sinner, or unintelligent, or a fool, in a word,
whosoever is God-forsaken, him the kingdom of God will
receive.” “We see them in our own houses, wool dressers,
cobblers, and fullers, the most uneducated and vulgar persons,
not daring to say a word in presence of their masters who are
older and wiser.but when they get hold of the children
in private and silly women with them, they are wonderfully
eloquent, to the effect that the children must not listen to their
father, but believe thetri and be taught by them .that
they alone know how to live.” “They are like quacks
who warn men against the doctor”—take care that none of you
touches science—knowledge makes men fall from health of soul.
“And the absurdity of it! Why was he not sent to sinless
as well as to sinner ? What harm is there in not having
sinned.” Celsus compares Christians to “ a swarm of bats—or
ants creeping out of their nest”—or worms in a conventicle
debating which of them are the more sinful, and saying, God
reveals all things to us . . . He forsakes the whole universe,
and the course of the heavenly spheres and all this great earth
he neglects to dwell with us alone.“God is,” say the
worms, “and after Him come we, brought into being by Him
in all things like into God, and to us all things are subjected—
earth and water and air, stars—for our sakes all things are, and
to serve us they are appointed.” “Some of us,” continue
the worms, “some of us sin, so God will come, or else He will
send His Son that He may burn up the unrighteous and that
the rest of us may have eternal life with Him.” And again he
attacks the Christian conception of God, “ who is subject
to anger and passions,” the incarnation, and most other
doctrines, such as the resurrection and miracles, etc. He
ridicules the incarnatiou and the passion. “Suppose that God,
like Zeus in the comedy waking out of a long sleep, determined
to rescue mankind from evil, why on earth did He send this
spirit into one particular corner ? He ought to have breathed
through many bodies in the same way and sent them all over
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[May
the world. The comic poet to make merryment in the theatre,
describes how Zeus waked up and sent Hermes to the Athe¬
nians.do you not think that your invention of God’s
Son being sent to the Jews is more laughable still?” This
is the style of the attacks that the early church faced and con¬
quered, meeting attack with defence, argument with argument,
baseless innuendos and biting satire with convincing evidence
of the reasonableness of the faith. The church has met with
its Celsus already in China. Kang Hsi was such a one in a
gentle and moderate way, but it can’t be said that the apologia
offered was altogether satisfactory. Recently the Hunan tracts,
coarse as some of them were, contained many of the arguments
and followed the line of attack with which the early church
was assailed. Unfortunately there has been no worthy reply
from the Chinese Christians to these assaults.
The old question of gods or atoms will find a large
place in the life of the century. What Japan is discussing
to-day will find a place in China to-morrow. Chinese philosophy
is in its old age and relies on old maxims rather than on a
quickening inspiration to meet the onset of the new questions
that are arising. To those who are concerned in the progress
of man the outlook is not altogether cheerful. Theories of life
will abound. Endless discussions there will be on man and God.
Materialistic conclusions will have a fierce contest with man’s
spiritual aspirations. And the result ? ... is uncertain, unless
the organ of God on earth is prepared to meet the situation.
And we come to the pertinent question whether
THERE IS A SUPPLY FOR THIS IMPERATIVE DEMAND AND NEED.
It is not difficult to answer this. There has been no material
of first rate quality within the church to cope with the pressing
needs. No native talent of any mark has so far appeared. The
need exists, the times are ripe, but the men are not provided.
Foul’ charges remain unanswered, materialistic philosophy
seems to gain ground and occupy the field, the challenge of a
scoffing philosophy has not been taken up. No worthy advo¬
cate of the “ Ecclesia of Worms” has appeared. For the most
part what apologia exists is the work of the missionary. This
can never be effective nor meet the situation because it lacks
the true native cult. It is only through Chinese Christian
scholars that the work can be efficiently done.
How then can we account for this dearth. Many
reasons are not at once apparent, (i) Inexperience of the
19101 Accomplished Chinese Scholars for Literary Work 333
worker. The problem has not been fully appreciated nor the
methods adequately considered. (2) Certain preconceived ideas
stood in the way, such as that the Gospel is first for the poor.
Preach to the cripple and the simple, the artisan and the
fanner, the hawker and those on the margin of national life.
Again the delusion that the evangelical method at home must
be the universal method of evangelism. Slum and the mission
room is the hall mark of this type. Certain catch words have
hindered the work and workers. Certain methods that met a
temporary need in the home lands have become stereotyped.
We are liable to forget that circumstances gave rise to these
phases and conceptions, and that these methods originally
arose from the earnestness of people who strove to meet the
claims of special conditions and places, and who felt convinced
that the usual routine of church life did not solve in their
countries the problem of how to reach the whole nation. But
in the hands of others these methods have become the evils
they were destined in the first place to overcome. In certain
quarters there has been a prejudice against the class under the
delusion that it would be disloyal to the central truth of the
Gospel to meet their special needs in any way. Those who are
governed by this prejudice overlook the fact that special effort
implies nothing more than an application of method, a
specialized way of attaining an end. This is constantly done
at home and in the mission fields, such as medical work,
opium patients, etc. And if the principle be allowed in this
respect it passes comprehension why it should have been
neglected in appealing to the scholars of China. One is
inclined to ask if it is any wrong to be an educated man ?
When in the early years of the 19th century an attempt was
made in England to reach the multitude without the pale and
carry on popular services in the theatres, etc., Lord Dungannon
moved a resolution in the House of Lords “ to call attention
to the performance of divine services at Sadler’s Wells and
other threatres by clergymen of the church of England on
Sunday evenings and to make a resolution that such services,
being highly irregular., are calculated to injure.
sound religious principle, etc.” The noble lord was wrong in
objecting to this special attempt to reach a class, as some earn¬
est men in China are lacking in consideration of the problem
when they take a partial view of the great missionary problem
and apply a principle which answered certain conditions else-
The Chinese Recorder
3)4
[May
where, but may be altogether inappropriate in China. The old
accusation was, “ My people doth not consider.”
I cannot help feeling that certain theological doctrines,
such as election, have militated against successful missionary
operations, and for that reason unconsciously the quality of the
church life is not as high as it should be. Again there has
been a prejudice against Chinese literature. Some would no
more think of handling it than they would a dirty rag, and only
the force of circumstance compelled them to admit their
school boys to have the most meagre acquaintance with their
own literature. Any real study of it was discouraged and the
culture which it alone could supply was rigidly excluded.
The study of the New Testament alone was held to be sufficient
knowledge of Chinese. The genius of the Chinese mind, as
expressed in their San-tzu-ching and classics, has been cast
aside in favour of the barbaric productions of a Christian San-tzu-
ching, in indifferent hymns, and the classics with a Christian
commentary ! The worker has often been too nervous.
He has unnecessarily trembled over the ark of God and made
the measure of his own understanding the standard of the
divine operations. There has been a certain hesitation in
giving a thorough mental equipment lest the student fall away
from grace and the church. Where more generous ideas con¬
cerning education existed, the utilitarian aspect of it was ad¬
vocated in theory and principle that it became a consuming idea
with the student how to master the forces of nature and get on
in the world. Thus the high ideals of China on the use of
education were lost with the result that the half educated
student is more likely to become a terror than an apologist.
And if one party neglected an opportunity by the delusion that
the evangelical propaganda must bear in some form the mark
of the mission hall, so now there is a powerful party full of the
idea that education on Western lines is the only solution of the
missionary problem. “Possessed” with this conviction they
are madly rushing away with it, but whither ?
The outlook is not hopeful. The accomplished scholars
that are so much needed will not come from scientific colleges.
It is unreasonable to expect them. A predominating scientific
training will not supply the church with the quality of men she
wants. And the conclusion is then that to some extent the
missionary himself is responsible for the present lack of accom¬
plished scholars to serve the cause of Christ.
19iO] Accomplished Chinese Scholars for Literary Work 335
How CAN THE NEED be MET. This is a difficult problem.
From earliest days this should have been a matter of tile greatest
concern and most anxious deliberation. With some hesitation
I would offer a few suggestions.
(«) Avoid the prejudices just indicated. ( b) The church
should definitely seek to win the literati of the laud. This it
has not done. We have been crippled by a mistaken
interpretation of those noble words, “not many learned, not
many noble, etc., are called.” (c) We must oust nervousness and
a crippling theology. There is a unity in divine providence—
God has been the moral governor of the race not of a tribe.
Chinese ethics must find a place for Christian truth; equally it
must be demonstrated that the Christian dogma supplies the
deficiency of Chinese ethics. The one was a preparation for
the other. There must be a mutual understanding somewhere.
(d) We must be convinced of the need of them—able men are
the only efficient instruments of God in the church and out of
it. It has always been so, and will always remain so. This
is the evidence of history and the conviction of reason. (<*)
The missions must have a self-deuying ordinance The pro¬
mising men must have a full training on literary lines. No
present need of service should blight the future and permanent
efficiency of the church. Train the promising intellectually
and spiritually and train them well. [/) A larger prominence
must be given to the meaning and end of education and a con¬
stant endeavour be made to maintain a high ideal of culture
and the preeminence of spiritual things, (g) Further, no mis¬
sionary should come out without a thorough study of the
acts of the apostles, both as given in the New Testament in its
relation to the missionary propaganda and in the literature of
the subsequent centuries. The contact of the church with men
of other faiths should be thoroughly mastered in all its details.
There was possibly a difficulty in early days. But there is no
excuse now with the splendid literature at our command. I
will only mention the latest volume published, “The Con¬
flict of Religions in the Early Roman Empire,” by
Mr. T- R. Glover, aii illuminating and fascinating volume to
which I am indebted. (A) A college should be established in
China which all new missionaries would enter. Here the
student would be directed 011 lines of study not only in language
but more especially he would be made acquainted with the
masterpieces of Chinese literature (apart from the classics) with
336
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[May
a view of future study, with the boohs that have been published
by foreign scholars in the past, and generally with the wealth
of matter open to him. This will provide a great mental
stimulus direct, and inform his own thoughts, and prevent waste
of time and energy during his missionary career. He should
further find the well-considered opinions of missionaries prepared
for him, who in turn will place in a permanent form their
experience and conclusions, and in so doing they would greatly
enrich the church at large. Here the student would have many
avenues of work pointed out to him ; the many-sided branches
of operations would be considered, difficulties stated and solu¬
tions suggested. In this way the missionary himself will be
made ten times more useful and efficient, and be put in the
way for finding out how to get the services of accomplished
scholars. To some extent the waste in the past will be avoided.
(i) At least 20 per cent, of the missionaries in the field should
be set apart to seek out the scholars in town and village with
the definite object of creating a mutual understanding and
laying before them the basis and scope of Christian thought.
This proposal does not refer to the work amongst college students
so excellently carried on by the Y. M. C. A. and other societies
who have set men apart for institutional work. But a sincere
and a real effort should be made to win the Confucian scholars
over the land who are untouched by any of the various operations
now in vogue. This class is the most numerous and influential.
This much we can do. We can seek and pray for that
class whose services should aid best the Christian cause. When
we have done this then God will do His part.
Some Points in Work for the Educated
Classes of China
BY W. E. TAYROR, M.A., PH.D.
HE fast moving changes of recent years have brought
the student classes into large prominence and have
endowed them with such powers for good or evil that
all workers for China’s welfare must feel the call to some
special campaign on their behalf. The strategic potentiality
and the immediate urgency of the situation demand wise states¬
manship and concerted action, both by Mission Boards at home
1910] Some Points in Work for the Educated Classes of China 337
and by Christian workers on the field. The problem of effect¬
ing a speedy entrance into the great government colleges,
the more closely-located problem in our Christian mission
schools of combining a higher evangelization with a higher
education, and the increasingly important problem of keeping
the Christian touch and influence about the army of graduates
who have swept out of our gates,—these and others are press¬
ing for immediate solution.
A beginning can be made in the various churches by the
formation in each centre of a committee of the leading Chris¬
tian workers to plan how to reach the educated classes. If the
movement is to be truly national, and not merely a missionary
movement, the Chinese element will be made as strong and
representative as possible. A feasible plan is to arrange a
monthly meeting of all pastors and Christian teachers in any
centre. Such a coming together widens men’s outlook and
strengthens their faith. The more the burden of responsibility
can be laid upon the Chinese churches to initiate and operate
this special campaign, the more effective, under wise and
sympathetic guidance, will it be bound to be. Owing to the
peculiar relationship of missionary work to foreign Boards, and
still more to the necessarily limited supply of trained and
experienced leaders, the day has probably not yet come when
all responsibility should be put on the native churches for the
whole work. But in this an opportunity is afforded to make
experiment in a way that will not conflict with preexisting
arrangements, nor cause embarrassment in readusting relation¬
ships. We as missionaries in China can learn a lesson from
Japan, where slowness to hand over what now seems a reason¬
able amount of control resulted in a more or less arbitrary
demand for practically complete separation. An opportunity
is afforded here for an interesting and valuable experiment in
self-government. If the better and more capable class of Chinese
Christians once take up this movement as their own, and really
get under the burden, it would do more than any one thing
to sober them to a realization of the responsibilities as well
as the privileges of independence. Where the experiment
has already been tried it has led not to separation but to a
closer drawing together of the native and foreign staff, by a
new and very delightful interdependence as co-workers, each
equally necessary for the other to ensure the success of a
common cause.
338
The Chinese Recorder
[May
The question of Chinese leadership in this peculiar kind
of work is bound, and rightly so, to bring about an adjustment
tending towards better financial support of the men who lead
it. With the increased cost of living, with the new social
customs incident to contact with Western life and habits,
with the call for a new type of leader, quite different from
the old hsien-sheng , or writer, or chapel worker, it is impera¬
tive that it be made possible for the right kind of men to
live and work and lead in this movement. It is unreason¬
able to expect men to turn from independent and lucrative
positions offering large opportunities for service to serve at
scarcely a living wage. The argument here is for this special
class, who by training and calling and position should be able
to stand on a fairly equal footing with the educated classes with
whom they will be working. It is the simple and reasonable
argument that the ‘ worthy ’ laborer is worthy of his hire.
Given a real share in its inception and control, with a
leadership made possible by adequate support, and there is
every reason to expect that the movement to reach the educated
classes would soon take on a national character in its extent and
influence. In practically every Mission there are qualified men
who on a new basis, somewhat as suggested, would be ready to
work into positions of responsibility in the Christian church.
We have not tried seriously enough, or else we have not tried
successfully enough to get such men. Within the last few
years the experiment has been made and the results should
remove the doubts of the most sceptical. The Christian
business and professional men in Shanghai who have directed
this kind of work include such as the following : Taotai Wong
Kok-shan, of honorable Christian parentage in the E. M. S.,
recently promoted to the head of the Consolidated Hanyang
Iron Works ; H. E. Tong Kai-son, Commissioner to the Inter¬
national Opium Commission ; Dr. W. W. Yen, son of a church
pastor of the A. C. M., publisher of the leading English-
Chinese Dictionary, former secretary to the Chinese Ambas¬
sador at Washington and now promoted to the Waiwupu.
Among present directors of the Chinese Young Men’s Christian
Association in Shanghai, are the chief interpreter of the
Shanghai-Nankiug Railway ; the manager of the Commercial
Press, the largest publishing house in China ; the manager of
the first Express Company in China ; two professors in govern¬
ment colleges; the director of the first Chinese orphanage,
1910 ] Some Points in Work for the Educated Classes of China 339
and so on. The list need not be enlarged. It is sufficient to
prove the point that the Chinese church is producing men of
the first rank in business and professional and other circles,
who are willing to take up their share of responsible action in
the effort to reach the educated classes.
It may be feared that the concentration of men of this
type to a special and peculiar work will have a tendency to
draw them off from their first allegiance to their church
responsibilities, in attendance at service and share in the
churches’ management. Such, however, has not been the case,
and indeed the tendency has rather been in the other direction,
by tying them up more definitely to the source of spiritual
supply for a spiritual work. Even in the case of the regular
employed-staff engaged in this special work it is interesting
and significant to note their connection with regular church
work. Three are superintendents of the leading Sunday
Schools in the city. Two others are members of the Advisory
Board of their church, one being its chairman. Still another
is acting-in-charge of the Cantonese church, holding it together
till it is strong enough to call a regular pastor. It seems to
be true that the larger vision these men get of a national
church embracing all classes, the more ready they are to serve
it directly in every capacity.
When leading men in the various centres and communities
shall have been brought into a larger relationship with the
church’s control and work, the problem of self-support will
be very near solution. It is surprising what the Chinese
Christians can raise when they give themselves to the endeavor
with conviction and determination. The Shanghai effort may
again be used as an illustration of what Chinese Christians
of the student and merchant class can do. The Board of
Directors, which is entirely Chinese and Christian, have stood
responsible each year to raise the annual budget, which has
grown in a short decade from $3,000 to $37,000, and each year
every cent has been raised locally and from Chinese. In
addition this last year they set themselves to the enormous
and seemingly impossible task of raising a special fund of
$100,000, In three weeks the total amount was pledged. In
all this the foreigners’ advice is continually sought and gladly
given, but the significant fact outstands that the planning,
working responsible body is Chinese. Similar results are being
obtained in different parts of China.
The Chinese Recorder
[May
340
Self-propagation, which is an indispensable condition of
lasting and extensive growth, follows on a movement which
men can feel is their own, and for which they have planned
and worked. The hope and certainty of the speedy evangeli¬
zation of Chinese, as well as the reaching a particular class, is
built up on this reliance upon China’s own leaders to propagate
the churches’ membership and extend the churches’ work.
Men who catch the spirit find it easy to go out and secure
another to join what he knows is a good and helpful thing. In
Shanghai within two years nearly 700 new members were
secured by the members themselves. In Hongkong the
members increased their membership this year from 300 to
over 1,000. These are exceptional instances in that they
include Christian and non-Christians, but the principle involved
of reaching out into the educated classes is exemplified and its
practicability established.
The above are some of the principles which seem to be
necessarily involved in any sustained successful effort to reach
educated young men. The remainder of the article will be
devoted to giving a brief account of some of the methods of
approach which have been employed in Shanghai, Tientsin,
Foochow, Canton, Tokyo and other centres.
1. Religious Meetings.—“These have been of a varied
nature suited to the particular group it was hoped to interest.
For the larger group of the membership and their friends
twenty special services were held in the Martyrs’ Memorial Hall.
The stereopticou was used six times and included a series of
four effective addresses by Rev. F. Rawlinson on the subjects—
Jesus, the * Preacher,’ the ‘ Wonder-worker,’ the ‘ Friend,’
the ‘Sacrifice.’ Moving pictures on the Life of Christ were
shown five times, and there was a large attendance on each
occasion. The Cathedral Choir and Union Church Choir gave
much appreciated programmes. Other special features during
the year included addresses by the Rt. Rev. L. H. Roots, Bishop
of Hankow ; Lord William Cecil, of England ; H. E. Tong
Kai-son, of Peking ; Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman, of Philadelphia ;
Mr. Clayton Cooper, of New York ; Bishop C. H. Brent, of the
Philippines; Bishop Lewis, of Foochow ; Dr. Arthur H. Smith,
of Shantung, and Dr. Arthur S. Brown, of New York. Two
anti-opium meetings were held, to which official representatives
were sent. These were significant occasions when such high
officials as the Viceroy, the Governor of the province, the
1910] Some Points in Work for the Educated Classes of China 341
Taotai, the District Magistrate met on a common platform with
Christian business men of the East and of the West, and with
Missionary leaders in an effort to uplift China and loose it from
the chains of this accursed habit. Another important occasion
was when Taotai Tong Kai-son, on the eve of his departure for
America together with fifty government students, addressed an
audience in the large hall on ‘Christ, the Hope of China.’
“ In addition to these large meetings special services were
held on Sunday afternoons throughout the year with an
average attendance of 100. The main feature marking these
meetings was a series of addresses on ‘ A Young Man’s Ques¬
tions,’ and the interest, even throughout the summer months,
was well sustained. The speakers were chosen almost entirely
from the Board of Directors and other leading members, who in
this way rendered a real service. The total attendance at the
Sunday religious services was 11,219.
“To indicate what has been the net result of all these
services would be impossible by figures. Something over one
hundred men have made a public testimony of their desire
to become Christians, but this, although most encouraging,
does not begin to measure the influence that has gone from
these services, influences that mean a better community, one
more resembling and making possible the extension of the
kingdom which Christ came to establish.”
SUMMARY.
Sunday religious meetings attendance . 11,219
Week-day religious meetings attendance... * 9)135
Bible Study groups attendance .12,949
Total attendance . 43,303
(Excerpt Shanghai report for 1909.)
2. Bible study is perhaps the most satisfactory way of
getting a real grip on young men’s minds and consciences.
For Christian men regular Bible study courses used in Western
schools and colleges are employed. Special courses have been
prepared for non-Christians, with a view to meeting them on
their own ground by a discussion of personal, social, econo¬
mic and national questions, affording helpful constructive
advice, and leading to the definite Christian interpretation
illustrated by Bible reference. Such courses as “ Main Lines
of the Bible,” “The Teachings of Jesus,” “A Young Man’s
Questions,” “The College and Life,” etc., have been used
342
The Chinese Recorder
[May
with success. Efforts have been made to find out what were
the peculiar problems and difficulties of this class in China.
The results have fully justified any expenditure of time and
thought. During this last year in the Shanghai work in
addition to the many Christians enrolled over half a thousand
non-Christian young men have been regularly and systematic¬
ally studying the Bible.
3. Approach to the educated classes can be made effect¬
ive and helpful in ways other than the distinctively religious.
Public lectures have been given throughout the year on
scientific, educational, and other important matters. A course
on ‘Some National Questions’ is being given this spring
in Shanghai, which is not only arousing much attention in
educational circles, but has been taken up by the leading news¬
papers, Chinese and foreign, and is being reported and com¬
mented on editorially to a remarkable degree. It means a
great deal when the Judge of the Supreme Court, the Editor of
a leading paper in the East, the Manager of the Shanghai-
Nanking Railway, and the Chinese Minister of Education can
meet on a common platform, under distinctively Christian
auspices, to advise these classes on individual and national
regeneration.
4. Committee service is employed in every branch of
activity to encourage men to think and plan and work for
themselves. ‘Not to be ministered unto, but to minister,’ is
the motto engraved in stone over the main door of the build¬
ing, and in every way possible the spirit and principle of
service is pressed upon the members. Religious, social, recep¬
tion, educational, physical work and other committees are
made up of leading members who give a great deal of their
time voluntarily to carrying out their programmes for the year.
It does men good to have responsibility put on them, it
gratifies them to feel that they are looked to for help, it
develops their latent possibilities, and in many cases has dis¬
covered valuable leaders. In such a way a working organizing
trained force may be secured which makes possible a much
larger work than could be carried on by a regularly employed
staff alone.
5. Expansion and extension plans, always looking for
Chinese initiative and executive, are the life and hope of a
movement for young men. The time has come when a great
deal of our special church work in China can be well done by
1910 ] The Use of the Christian Scholar in Literature
343
the considerable and growing number of Christian men of
ability who are being trained up in the various mission stations
throughout China. In a recent Bible Study Conference,
lasting three days, the plans of organization, the actual charge
and conduct of the meetings, and the giving of eleven of the
fourteen addresses were effected by Chinese. In other ways
opportunities are afforded for non-Christian men as well to
take a leading part, as for instance in carrying on fellowship
circles, musical clubs, debates, social entertainments, etc. In
public functions tile policy followed is to have the manage¬
ment, the occupancy of the chair, and numerous other duties
incident to such gatherings entrusted to responsible Chinese.
In a word there is a large and growing place to-day in the
Chinese Christian church for the trained and better educated
classes of young men. The relationship of the missionary to
this important body (for a close relationship is vital to the
best interests of all) will be best served and conserved by his
“remaining in shadow in order to increase light.’’ In other
words the missionaries’ office should be that of confidential and
hidden adviser to a movement having its own leaders who are
responsible to it in every possible way. In God’s providence
such a movement, under consecrated and capable Chinese
leaders, will bring new life and power to the Christian church
in China.
The Use of the Christian Scholar in Literature.
BY REV. W. E. SOOTHILL, TAI-VUEN-FU.
HAT there is splendid scope for the trained Christian
scholar of this land in Christian literature is self-
evident. That there are many Christian scholars of
the classical school is also true, and that there are many of the
modern school everybody knows. But whether there are auy
Christians—or even non-Christians for the matter of that—
ripe in the knowledge of their own literature and also trained
in the philosophy of the West, who knows ? Such, however, is
the type of man that the Christian church will stand badly in
need of before another decade has passed. Indeed he is needed
already.
The Western missionary, handicapped though he has been,
has done preparatory work of a high order. He has been handi-
344
The Chinese Recorder
[May
capped by an imperfect knowledge of the written language,
making it difficult for him to read with ease the literature,
say, of the Sung philosopher ; he has been handicapped by an
imperfect knowledge of the existing philosophic terminology
of the various Chinese schools; he has been further handi¬
capped by being compelled to pass his thought through the
mind of pundits whose sympathies have often been tepid and
whose work in consequence has lacked warmth ; he has been
hampered with many and varied duties, and he has been
hampered by that indefinable something which hangs as a
kind of haze between the Western and the Oriental mind,
indeed between all men of differing nationality and language.
Yet despite all this he has done manful work, digging founda¬
tions and putting up admirable temporary structures.
The time is at hand, however, when our Chinese brethren
must themselves take up this work and develop it on national
philosophic lines, plus the aid of the new terminology, which
is the despair of the older as it is the pride of the modern
student, for the Chinese Christians must of necessity build up
their own apologetics, exegetics, hymnology and what not to
suit their own national genius.
The witness of the past clearly declares that the future
presents magnificent opportunities to the faithful student. We
can go back to the earliest times and show that if Moses had
not been learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians the whole
course of Israelitish history, and with it that of the world,
would have been altered. St. Paul, too, was acquainted with
Greek and Roman schools of thought as well as with Hebrew.
Many of the Fathers were learned in all that was accounted
wisdom in their day. Augustine, Luther, Melancthon, Calvin,
Wycliffe, Wesley—how easy it would be to pile up names !—
were all men of no mean literary attainments, and their sancti¬
fied scholarship moved their own and future generations might¬
ily. And what is called for in China to-day is a man, or men
of this order, schooled in the philosophy of their own country
and also in that of the West, where thought has gone deeper,
criticism been keener and logic more searching. Oh! for a
Chinese Christian versed in the Confucian, Buddhist, Taoist
and “heretical” writers of repute, learned in Western modes
of thought, steeped in the Holy Scriptures and sanctified by
the Spirit of Christ! Such a man might indeed stir his
thoughtful fellow-countrymen and through them the masses,
1910] The Use of the Christian Scholar in Literature 345
as they have never been stirred in the past and become
the morning star of a great reformation. Is there such a
man ? If not have we, and where are they, a few men of
sufficient mental qualification and spiritual singlenesss of
heart to justify their being put under a ten years 1 course of
training ?
If there be anything in a report current in Peking a week
or two since that there is a proposal to form a K‘ungtzu-
Chituh Chiao, a Confucius-Christian church, we have all the
more reason for early preparation to assist the new movement
into straight paths. That some movement of this, or a similar,
character, will sooner or later arise one may take as almost
assured, for Dagon is falling before a mightier than he, the old
philosophies cannot resist the ark of truth, the temple may
remain, but the ^ inner sanctuary, will be transformed. For
just as in the early days of Christianity neo-Platonism arose,
exerting a powerful influence as much on Christian as ou Pagan
thought, so the day is drawing nigh when a neo-Confucianism
will arise in China.
With a high order of Chinese scholarship in the church
may not this neo-Confucianism be so influenced that what
is beautiful and Christian in it shall be enriched by what
is so much more heart-searching and inspiring in Christian
theology ? Jesus did not destroy Moses, nor did He look
on him as an enemy, but as a dear friend. From the rigid
bud he brought the full blowu fragrant rose, from the frozen
fountain he thawed the water of life. And later when the
Greek mind demanded that Christian thought be put into
logical form, it was neo-Platonism that helped to forge and
to chase the golden vase in which the cultured man might
keep his fragrant flower, or from which he might offer
his draught of living water. As was the history of Judaea
and the early church, so is it likely to be in China. The
water of life will be the same, the bowl will be of different
material and of different shape. But where is yet the skilful
workman who can fashion the bowl ?
Perhaps somebody says it is impossible for one man
to make himself master of Western philosophy and the whole
round of that of China as well. If such be the case, then
let the men master their Western philosophy and take up
sectional schools in China, whether the Buddhist writers,
or the Taoist and “heretical” writers, or the Confucian
346
The Chinese Recorder
[May
authors. If, again, it be urged that ten years is not
enough for so large an order, then all the more reason for
an early start. Moreover, mere arm-chair philosophers are